UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014

[ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________ to ________

Commission File Number: 000-31225

, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
Tennessee	62-1812853
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

150 Third Avenue South, Suite 900, Nashville, Tennessee		37201
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (615) 744-3700

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

Title of Each Class				Name of Exchange on which Registered
Common Stock, par value $1.00				Nasdaq Global Select Market

		Securities registered 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. Yes [X] No [ ]

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes [X] No [ ]

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "accelerated filer," "large accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer [X] Accelerated Filer [ ] Non-accelerated Filer [ ] (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller Reporting Company [ ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes [ ] No [X]

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity as of the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter: $1,313,162,875 as of June 30, 2014.

APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE REGISTRANTS

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: 35,809,746 shares of common stock as of February 18, 2015.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled to be held April 21, 2015, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Page No.

PART I	4

ITEM 1. BUSINESS	4

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS	17

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	28

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES	28

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	28

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES	28

PART II	29

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	29

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA	30

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	31

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	61

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	62

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	122

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	122

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION	122

PART III	123

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	123

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	123

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS	123

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS, RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE	123

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES	123

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES	124

SIGNATURES	127

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain of the statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words "expect," "anticipate," "goal," "objective," "intend," "plan," "believe," "should," "seek," "estimate" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but other statements not based on historical information may also be considered forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (Pinnacle Financial) to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation, (i) deterioration in the financial condition of borrowers resulting in significant increases in loan losses and provisions for those losses; (ii) continuation of the historically low short-term interest rate environment; (iii) the inability of Pinnacle Financial or companies in which Pinnacle Financial has significant investments to grow their loan portfolios at recent growth rates; (iv) changes in loan underwriting, credit review or loss reserve policies associated with economic conditions, examination conclusions, or regulatory developments; (v) effectiveness of Pinnacle Financial's asset management activities in improving, resolving or liquidating lower-quality assets; (vi) increased competition with other financial institutions; (vii) greater than anticipated adverse conditions in the national or local economies including the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA and the Knoxville MSA, particularly in commercial and residential real estate markets; (viii) rapid fluctuations or unanticipated changes in interest rates on loans or deposits; (ix) the results of regulatory examinations; (x) the ability to retain large, uninsured deposits; (xi) the development of any new geographic market other than Nashville or Knoxville; (xii) a merger or acquisition; (xiii) risk of expansion into new geographic or product markets; (xiv) any matter that would cause Pinnacle Financial to conclude that there was impairment of any asset, including intangible assets; (xv) reduced ability to attract additional financial advisors (or failure of such advisors to cause their clients to switch to Pinnacle Financial) or otherwise to attract customers from other financial institutions; (xvi) further deterioration in the valuation of other real estate owned and increased expenses associated therewith; (xvii) inability to comply with regulatory capital requirements, including those resulting from changes to capital calculation methodologies and required capital maintenance levels; (xviii) risks associated with litigation, including the applicability of insurance coverage; (xix) approval of the declaration of any dividend by Pinnacle Financial's board of directors, (xx) the vulnerability of our network and online banking portals to unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes, spam attacks, human error, natural disasters, power loss and other security breaches, (xxi) the possibility of increased compliance costs as a result of increased regulatory oversight, including oversight of companies in which Pinnacle has significant investments, and the development of additional banking products for our corporate and consumer clients, and (xxii) changes in state and federal legislation, regulations or policies applicable to banks and other financial service providers, including regulatory or legislative developments arising out of current unsettled conditions in the economy, including implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. A more detailed description of these and other risks is contained in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" below. Many of such factors are beyond Pinnacle Financial's ability to control or predict, and readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Pinnacle Financial disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PART I

Unless this Form 10-K indicates otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms "we," "our," "us," "the firm," "Pinnacle Financial Partners," "Pinnacle" or "Pinnacle Financial" as used herein refer to Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc., and its subsidiaries, including Pinnacle Bank, which we sometimes refer to as "our bank subsidiary" or "our bank" and its other subsidiaries. References herein to the fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 mean our fiscal years ended December 31, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

Pinnacle Financial is the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, with $6.02 billion in assets as of December 31, 2014. Incorporated on February 28, 2000, the holding company is the parent company of Pinnacle Bank and owns 100% of the capital stock of Pinnacle Bank. The firm started operations on October 27, 2000, in Nashville, Tennessee, and has since grown to 34 offices, including 29 in eight Middle Tennessee counties. The firm also has five offices in Knoxville, Tennessee, the state's third-largest banking market. Prior to September 4, 2012, when it converted from a national bank to a state bank, Pinnacle Bank was known as Pinnacle National Bank.

The firm operates as a community bank primarily in the urban markets of Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee. As an urban community bank, Pinnacle Financial provides the personalized service most often associated with small community banks, while seeking to offer the sophisticated products and services, such as investments and treasury management, more typically offered by large regional and national banks. This approach has enabled Pinnacle Financial to attract clients from the regional and national banks in the Nashville and Knoxville MSAs. As a result, Pinnacle has grown to the fourth largest market share in the Nashville MSA and to the sixth largest market share in the Knoxville MSA, based on 2014 FDIC Summary of Deposits data including the impact of any mergers and acquisitions.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Lending Services

We offer a full range of lending products, including commercial, real estate and consumer loans to individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses and professional entities. We compete for these loans with competitors who are also well established in the Nashville and Knoxville MSAs.

Pinnacle Bank's loan approval policies provide for various levels of officer lending authority. When the total amount of loans to a single borrower exceeds an individual officer's lending authority, officers with higher lending authority determine whether to approve any new loan requests or renewals of existing loans. Loans to insiders require approval of the board, and, certain extensions of credit, including loans above certain amounts and certain adversely classified loans, require approval of a committee of the board.

In February 2015, Pinnacle Bank acquired a 30% membership interest in Bankers Healthcare Group, LLC (BHG), a company which makes term loans to healthcare professionals and practices, for $75 million in cash. Pinnacle Bank will have one of four seats on BHG's board of managers, will account for the investment using the equity method, and its interest in BHG's net income will be reflected in Pinnacle Financial's noninterest income.

Pinnacle Bank's lending activities are subject to a variety of lending limits imposed by federal and state law. Differing limits apply based on the type of loan or the nature of the borrower, including the borrower's relationship to Pinnacle Bank. In general, however, at December 31, 2014, we were able to loan any one borrower a maximum amount equal to approximately $88.9 million plus an additional $59.2 million, or a total of approximately $148.1 million, for loans that meet certain additional collateral guidelines. These legal limits will increase or decrease as Pinnacle Bank's capital increases or decreases as a result of its earnings or losses, the injection of additional capital, payments of dividends, or for other reasons. Pinnacle Bank's internal loan limit of $30 million is less than the legal lending limit, and Pinnacle Bank currently has three relationships in excess of its internal loan limit. These relationships range from $34.0 million to $40.0 million and were each approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.

The principal economic risk associated with each category of loans that Pinnacle Bank expects to make is the creditworthiness of the borrower. General economic factors affecting a commercial or consumer borrower's ability to repay include interest, inflation and unemployment rates, as well as other factors affecting a borrower's assets, clients, suppliers and employees. Many of Pinnacle Bank's commercial loans are made to small- to medium-sized businesses that are sometimes less able to withstand competitive, economic and financial pressures than larger borrowers. During periods of economic weakness these businesses may be more adversely affected than other enterprises and may cause increased levels of nonaccrual or other problem loans, loan charge-offs and higher provision for loan losses.

Pinnacle Bank's commercial clients borrow for a variety of purposes. The terms of these loans (which include equipment loans and working capital loans) will vary by purpose and by type of any underlying collateral. Commercial loans may be unsecured or secured by accounts receivable or by other business assets. Pinnacle Bank also makes a variety of commercial real estate loans, including both investment properties and business loans secured by real estate.

Pinnacle Bank also makes a variety of loans to individuals for personal, family, investment and household purposes, including secured and unsecured installment and term loans, residential first mortgage loans, home equity loans, home equity lines of credit and credit card loans.

Deposit Services

Pinnacle Bank seeks to establish a broad base of core deposits, including savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market and certificate of deposit accounts. To attract deposits, Pinnacle Bank has employed a marketing plan in its overall service areas primarily based on relationship banking and features a broad product line and competitive rates and services. The primary sources of deposits are individuals and businesses located in the Nashville and Knoxville MSAs. Pinnacle Bank traditionally has obtained these deposits primarily through personal solicitation by its officers and directors, although its use of media advertising has increased in recent years due to its advertising and banking sponsorship with the Tennessee Titans NFL football team.

Pinnacle Bank also offers its targeted commercial clients a comprehensive array of treasury management services as well as remote deposit services, which allow electronic deposits to be made from the client's place of business.

Investment, Trust and Insurance Services

Pinnacle Bank contracts with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (RJFS), a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, to offer and sell various securities and other financial products to the public from Pinnacle Bank's locations through Pinnacle Bank employees that are also RJFS employees. RJFS is a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc.

Pinnacle Bank offers, through RJFS, non-FDIC insured investment products in order to assist Pinnacle Bank's clients in achieving their financial objectives consistent with their risk tolerances. All of the financial products are offered by RJFS from Pinnacle Bank's main office and its other offices. Additionally, we believe that the brokerage and investment advisory program offered by RJFS complements Pinnacle Bank's general banking business, and further supports its business philosophy and strategy of delivering to our clients those products and services that meet their financial needs. Pursuant to its contract with us, RJFS is primarily responsible for the compliance monitoring of dual employees of RJFS and Pinnacle Bank. Additionally, Pinnacle Bank has developed its own compliance-monitoring program in an effort to further ensure that Pinnacle Bank personnel deliver these products in a manner consistent with the various regulations governing such activities. Pinnacle Bank receives a percentage of commission credits and fees generated by the program. Pinnacle Bank remains responsible for various expenses associated with the program, including promotional expenses, furnishings and equipment expenses and general personnel costs including commissions paid to licensed brokers.

Pinnacle Bank also maintains a trust department which provides fiduciary and investment management services for individual and commercial clients. Account types include personal trust, endowments, foundations, individual retirement accounts, pensions and custody. Pinnacle Advisory Services, Inc., a registered investment advisor, provides investment advisory services to its clients. Additionally, Miller Loughry Beach Insurance Services, Inc., an insurance agency subsidiary of Pinnacle Bank, provides insurance products, particularly in the property and casualty area, to its clients.

Capital Markets

In December 2014, Pinnacle Financial announced that it was entering the capital markets business with the hiring of a new senior officer to lead Pinnacle Bank's PNFP Capital Markets subsidiary. PNFP Capital Markets employees are expected to partner with Pinnacle Bank's financial advisors to offer corporate clients merger & acquisition advisory services, private debt, equity and mezzanine, interest rate derivatives and other selected middle-market advisory services.

Other Banking Services

Given client demand for increased convenience in accessing banking and investment services, Pinnacle Bank also offers a broad array of convenience-centered products and services, including 24-hour telephone and internet banking, mobile banking, debit and credit cards, direct deposit, remote deposit and cash management services for small- to medium-sized businesses. Additionally, Pinnacle Bank is associated with a nationwide network of automated teller machines of other financial institutions that our clients are able to use throughout Tennessee and other regions. In many cases, Pinnacle Bank, in contrast to many of its regional competitors, reimburses its clients for any fees that may be charged to the client for utilizing the nationwide ATM network, providing greater convenience as compared to these competitors.

Competitive Conditions

The Nashville MSA banking market is very competitive, with 65 financial institutions with over $44.1 billion in deposits in the market as of June 30, 2014, up from approximately $40.8 billion at June 30, 2013 according to FDIC data. As of June 30, 2000, approximately 62.8% of this deposit base was controlled by three large, multi-state banks headquartered outside of Nashville, consisting of the following: Regions Financial (headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama), Bank of America (headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina), and SunTrust (headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia). According to FDIC deposit information, the collective market share of deposits in the Nashville MSA of Regions Financial (including the acquired Union Planters National Bank and AmSouth Bank), Bank of America, and SunTrust (including the acquired National Bank of Commerce) declined from approximately 62.8% to 43.1% between June 30, 2000 and June 30, 2014. Pinnacle Bank, on the other hand, after fourteen years of operations, holds the No. 4 market share position in the Nashville MSA at June 30, 2014 with 9.4% of the market, immediately behind the top three out-of-state banks.

The Knoxville MSA banking market is also very competitive, with 51 financial institutions with over $14.7 billion in deposits in the market as of June 30, 2014 up from $14.5 billion at June 30, 2013. As of June 30, 2007, approximately 53.2% of this deposit base was controlled by three large, multi-state banks headquartered outside of Knoxville, consisting of the following: First Horizon (headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee), SunTrust, and Regions Financial. According to FDIC deposit information, the collective market share of deposits in the Knoxville MSA of First Horizon, SunTrust, and Regions Financial declined from 53.2% to 49.0% between June 30, 2007 and June 30, 2014. The decline in market share for the top three competitors since June 30, 2007 has occurred since Pinnacle Bank established a presence in the Knoxville MSA in 2007. At June 30, 2014, Pinnacle Bank had approximately 3.5% of the market share in the Knoxville MSA.

We believe that the most important criteria to our bank's targeted clients when selecting a bank is their desire to receive exceptional and personal customer service while being able to enjoy convenient access to a broad array of sophisticated financial products. Additionally, when presented with a choice, we believe that many of our bank's targeted clients would prefer to deal with a locally-owned institution headquartered in Tennessee, like Pinnacle Bank, as opposed to a large, multi-state bank, where many important decisions regarding a client's financial affairs are made elsewhere.

Employees

As of February 15, 2015, we employed 766.5 full-time equivalent associates. We believe these associates are Pinnacle's most important asset and consider our relationship with our associates to be excellent. This is supported by the fact that consulting firm, Great Place to Work, recognized us as one of the best workplaces in the United States on its 2014 Best Small & Medium Workplaces list published in FORTUNE magazine. The selection is based on an anonymously conducted survey of associates. Additionally, the American Banker also recognized Pinnacle Bank as the best bank to work for in 2013 and the second best bank to work for in 2014.

OTHER INFORMATION

Investment Securities

In addition to loans, Pinnacle Bank has investments primarily in United States agency securities, mortgage-backed securities, and state and municipal securities. No investment in any of those instruments exceeds any applicable limitation imposed by law or regulation. The executive committee of the board of directors reviews the investment portfolio on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that the investments conform to Pinnacle Bank's asset liability management policy as set by the board of directors.

Asset and Liability Management

Our Asset Liability Management Committee (ALCO), composed of senior managers of Pinnacle Bank, manages Pinnacle Bank's assets and liabilities and strives to provide a stable, optimized net interest income and margin, adequate liquidity and ultimately a suitable after-tax return on assets and return on equity. ALCO conducts these management functions within the framework of written policies that Pinnacle Bank's board of directors has adopted. ALCO works to maintain an acceptable position between rate sensitive assets and rate sensitive liabilities. The executive committee of the board of directors oversees the ALCO function on an ongoing basis.

Available Information

We file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. The public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. We are an electronic filer, and the SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains the reports, proxy and information statements, and other information we have filed electronically.

Our website address is www.pnfp.com. Please note that our website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only. We make available free of charge through our website, the annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The information provided on our website is not part of this report, and is therefore not incorporated by reference unless such information is otherwise specifically referenced elsewhere in this report.

We have also posted our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Corporate Code of Conduct for directors, officers and employees, and the charters of our Audit Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our board of directors on the Corporate Governance section of our website at www.pnfp.com. We will make any legally required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of, provisions of our Corporate Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance Guidelines or current committee charters on our website. Our corporate governance materials are available free of charge upon request to our Corporate Secretary, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc., 150 Third Avenue South, Suite 900, Nashville, Tennessee 37201.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

Both Pinnacle Financial and Pinnacle Bank are subject to extensive state and federal banking laws and regulations that impose restrictions on and provide for general regulatory oversight of Pinnacle Financial's and Pinnacle Bank's operations. These laws and regulations are generally intended to protect depositors and borrowers, not stockholders.

Pinnacle Financial

Pinnacle Financial is a bank holding company under the federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. As a result, it is subject to the supervision, examination, and reporting requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act and the regulations of the Federal Reserve.

Acquisition of Banks. The Bank Holding Company Act requires every bank holding company to obtain the Federal Reserve's prior approval before:

•	Acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank if, after the acquisition, the bank holding company will directly or indirectly own or control more than 5% of the bank's voting shares;

•	Acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of any bank; or

•	Merging or consolidating with any other bank holding company.

Additionally, the Bank Holding Company Act provides that the Federal Reserve may not approve any of these transactions if it would substantially lessen competition or otherwise function as a restraint of trade, or result in or tend to create a monopoly, unless the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed by the public interest in meeting the convenience and needs of the communities to be served. The Federal Reserve is also required to consider the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the bank holding companies and banks concerned; the effectiveness of the company in combating money laundering; the convenience and needs of the communities to be served; and the extent to which the proposal would result in greater or more concentrated risk to the United States banking or financial system.

Under the Bank Holding Company Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, if well-capitalized and well-managed, a bank holding company located in Tennessee may purchase a bank located outside of Tennessee. Conversely, a well-capitalized and well-managed bank holding company located outside of Tennessee may purchase a bank located inside Tennessee. In each case, however, state law restrictions may be placed on the acquisition of a bank that has only been in existence for a limited amount of time or will result in specified concentrations of deposits. For example, Tennessee law currently prohibits a bank holding company from acquiring control of a Tennessee-based financial institution until the target financial institution has been in operation for three years.

Change in Bank Control. Subject to various exceptions, the Bank Holding Company Act and the Federal Change in Bank Control Act, together with related regulations, require Federal Reserve approval prior to any person or company acquiring "control" of a bank holding company. Control is conclusively presumed to exist if an individual or company acquires 25% or more of any class of voting securities of the bank holding company. Control is refutably presumed to exist if a person or company acquires 10% or more, but less than 25%, of any class of voting securities and either:

•	The bank holding company has registered securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; or

•	No other person owns a greater percentage of that class of voting securities immediately after the transaction.

Pinnacle Financial's common stock is registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The regulations provide a procedure for challenge of the rebuttable control presumption.

Permitted Activities. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 amended the Bank Holding Company Act and expanded the activities in which bank holding companies and affiliates of banks are permitted to engage. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act eliminated many federal and state law barriers to affiliations among banks and securities firms, insurance companies, and other financial service providers. Generally, if Pinnacle Financial qualifies and elects to become a financial holding company, which is described below, Pinnacle Financial may engage in activities that are:

•	Financial in nature;

•	Incidental to a financial activity (as determined by the Federal Reserve in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury); or

•	Complementary to a financial activity and do not pose a substantial risk to the safety or soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally (as determined by the Federal Reserve).

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act expressly lists the following activities as financial in nature:

•	Lending, trust and other banking activities;

•	Insuring, guaranteeing, or indemnifying against loss or harm, or providing and issuing annuities, and acting as principal, agent, or broker for these purposes, in any state;

•	Providing financial, investment, or advisory services;

•	Issuing or selling instruments representing interests in pools of assets permissible for a bank to hold directly;

•	Underwriting, dealing in or making a market in securities;

•	Activities that the Federal Reserve has determined to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident to banking or managing or controlling banks;

•	Activities permitted outside of the United States that the Federal Reserve has determined to be usual in connection with banking or other financial operations abroad;

•	Merchant banking through securities or insurance affiliates; and

•	Insurance company portfolio investments.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act also authorizes the Federal Reserve, in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, to determine activities in addition to those listed above that are financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity. In determining whether a particular activity is financial in nature or incidental or complementary to a financial activity, the Federal Reserve must consider (1) the purpose of the Bank Holding Company Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, (2) changes or reasonably expected changes in the marketplace in which financial holding companies compete and in the technology for delivering financial services, and (3) whether the activity is necessary or appropriate to allow financial holding companies to effectively compete with other financial service providers and to efficiently deliver information and services. Pinnacle Financial has not elected to become a financial holding company as of the date of this report.

Under the Bank Holding Company Act, a bank holding company, which has not qualified or elected to become a financial holding company, is generally prohibited from engaging in or acquiring direct or indirect control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any company engaged in nonbanking activities unless, prior to the enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Federal Reserve found those activities to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident to the business of banking. Activities that the Federal Reserve has found to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident to the business of banking include:

•	Factoring accounts receivable;

•	Acquiring or servicing loans;

•	Leasing personal property;

•	Conducting discount securities brokerage activities;

•	Performing selected data processing services;

•	Acting as agent or broker in selling credit life insurance and other types of insurance in connection with credit transactions; and

•	Underwriting certain insurance risks of the holding company and its subsidiaries.

Despite prior approval, the Federal Reserve may order a bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any of these activities or to terminate its ownership or control of any subsidiary when it has reasonable cause to believe that the bank holding company's continued ownership, activity or control constitutes a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness, or stability of any of its bank subsidiaries.

Support of Subsidiary Institutions. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, and previously under Federal Reserve policy, Pinnacle Financial is required to act as a source of financial strength for its bank subsidiary, Pinnacle Bank, and to commit resources to support Pinnacle Bank. This support can be required at times when it would not be in the best interest of Pinnacle Financial's stockholders or creditors to provide it. In the event of Pinnacle Financial's bankruptcy, any commitment by it to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of Pinnacle Bank would be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to a priority of payment.

Pinnacle Bank

Pinnacle Financial owns one bank - Pinnacle Bank. Pinnacle Bank is a state bank chartered under the laws of the State of Tennessee that is not a member of the Federal Reserve. As a result, it is subject to the supervision, examination and reporting requirements and the regulations of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI). The TDFI has the authority to approve or disapprove mergers, the establishment of branches and similar corporate actions. The TDFI regularly examines state banks like Pinnacle Bank and in connection with its examinations may identify matters necessary to improve a bank's operation in accordance with principles of safety and soundness. Any matters identified in such examinations are required to be appropriately addressed by the bank. Pinnacle Bank is also subject to numerous state and federal statutes and regulations that will affect its business, activities and operations.

Branching. While the TDFI has authority to approve branch applications, state banks are required by the State of Tennessee to adhere to branching laws applicable to state chartered banks in the states in which they are located. With prior regulatory approval, Tennessee law permits banks based in the state to either establish new or acquire existing branch offices throughout Tennessee. As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, Pinnacle Bank and any other national or state-chartered bank generally may branch across state lines to the same extent as banks chartered in the state of the branch.

FDIC Insurance. Deposits in Pinnacle Bank are insured by the FDIC subject to applicable limitations. To offset the cost of this issuance, the FDIC has adopted a risk-based assessment system for insured depository institutions that takes into account the risks attributable to different categories and concentrations of assets and liabilities. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC has adopted regulations that base deposit insurance assessments on total assets less capital rather than deposit liabilities and include off-balance sheet liabilities of institutions and their affiliates in risk-based assessments.

The Dodd-Frank Act increased the basic limit on federal deposit insurance coverage to $250,000 per depositor. The Dodd-Frank Act also repealed the prohibition on paying interest on demand transaction accounts.

The FDIC may terminate its insurance of an institution's deposits if it finds that the institution has engaged in unsafe and unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations, or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC.

Capital Adequacy

The Federal Reserve has established a risk-based and a leverage measure of capital adequacy for bank holding companies. Pinnacle Bank is also subject to risk-based and leverage capital requirements adopted by the FDIC, which are substantially similar to those adopted by the Federal Reserve for bank holding companies. The risk-based capital standards are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banks and bank holding companies, to account for off-balance-sheet exposure, and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Assets and off-balance-sheet items, such as letters of credit and unfunded loan commitments, are assigned to broad risk categories, each with appropriate risk weights. The resulting capital ratios represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance-sheet items. Tennessee state banks are required to have the capital structure that the TDFI deems adequate, and the Commissioner of the TDFI may require a state bank to increase its capital structure to the point deemed adequate by the Commissioner before granting approval of a branch application or charter amendment.

Under Federal Reserve guidelines for bank holding companies applicable prior to January 1, 2015, the minimum ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets was 8%. Total capital consisted of two components, Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital. Tier 1 capital generally consists of common stock (plus related surplus) and retained earnings, minority interests in the equity accounts of consolidated subsidiaries, noncumulative perpetual preferred stock and related surplus, and a limited amount of cumulative perpetual preferred stock and related surplus, less goodwill and other specified intangible assets. The trust preferred securities previously issued by Pinnacle Financial qualified as Tier 1 capital, and as described below will continue to qualify as Tier 1 capital under the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel III. Under Federal Reserve guidelines applicable prior to January 1, 2015, Tier 1 capital must equal at least 4% of risk-weighted assets. Tier 2 capital generally consists of subordinated debt, other preferred stock, and a limited amount of loan loss reserves. The total amount of Tier 2 capital is limited to 100% of Tier 1 capital. For a holding company to be considered "well-capitalized," it was required to maintain a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6% and not be subject to a written agreement, order or directive to maintain a specific capital level.

In addition, the Federal Reserve established minimum leverage ratio guidelines for bank holding companies that were applicable prior to January 1, 2015. These guidelines provided that a minimum ratio of Tier 1 capital to average assets, less goodwill and other specified intangible assets, of at least 4% should be maintained for most bank holding companies. The guidelines also provided that bank holding companies experiencing high internal growth or making acquisitions will be expected to maintain strong capital positions substantially above the minimum supervisory levels. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve indicated that it will consider a bank holding company's Tier 1 capital leverage ratio, after deducting all intangibles, and other indicators of capital strength in evaluating proposals for expansion or new activities.

The Dodd-Frank Act contained a number of provisions dealing with capital adequacy of insured depository institutions and their holding companies, and for the most part these provisions have resulted in insured depository institutions and their holding companies being subject to more stringent capital requirements. Under the so-called Collins Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, federal regulators have established minimum leverage and risk-based capital requirements for, among other entities, banks and bank holding companies on a consolidated basis. These minimum requirements require that a bank holding company maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of not less than 4% and a total risk-based capital ratio of not less than 8%. The Collins Amendment also excludes trust preferred securities issued after May 19, 2010 from being included in Tier 1 capital unless the issuing company is a bank holding company with less than $500 million in total assets. Trust preferred securities issued prior to that date will continue to count as Tier 1 capital for bank holding companies with less than $15 billion in total assets, and such securities will be phased out of Tier 1 capital treatment for bank holding companies with over $15 billion in total assets as of May 9, 2010 over a three-year period beginning in 2013. Pinnacle Financial's trust preferred securities will continue to qualify as Tier 1 capital.

In July 2013, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC approved final rules that substantially amend the regulatory capital rules applicable to Pinnacle Bank and Pinnacle Financial, effective January 1, 2015. The final rules implement the regulatory capital reforms of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision reflected in "Basel III: A Global Regulatory Framework for More Resilient Banks and Banking Systems" (Basel III) and changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

Under these rules, the leverage and risk-based capital ratios of bank holding companies may not be lower than the leverage and risk-based capital ratios for insured depository institutions. The final rules implementing the Basel III regulatory capital reforms became effective as to Pinnacle Financial and Pinnacle Bank on January 1, 2015, and include new minimum risk-based capital and leverage ratios. Moreover, these rules refine the definition of what constitutes "capital" for purposes of calculating those ratios, including the definitions of Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital. The new minimum capital level requirements applicable to bank holding companies and banks subject to the rules are: (i) a new common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5%; (ii) a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6% (increased from 4%); (iii) a total risk-based capital ratio of 8% (unchanged from current rules); and (iv) a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4% for all institutions. The rules also establish a "capital conservation buffer" of 2.5% (to be phased in over three years) above the new regulatory minimum risk-based capital ratios, and result in the following minimum ratios once the capital conservation buffer is fully phased in: (i) a common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 7%, (ii) a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8.5%, and (iii) a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.5%. The capital conservation buffer requirement is to be phased in beginning in January 2016 at 0.625% of risk-weighted assets and would increase each year until fully implemented in January 2019. An institution will be subject to limitations on paying dividends, engaging in share repurchases and paying discretionary bonuses if capital levels fall below minimum plus the buffer amounts. These limitations establish a maximum percentage of eligible retained income that could be utilized for such actions.

Under these new rules, Tier 1 capital generally consists of common stock (plus related surplus) and retained earnings, limited amounts of minority interest in the form of additional Tier 1 capital instruments, and non-cumulative preferred stock and related surplus, subject to certain eligibility standards, less goodwill and other specified intangible assets and other regulatory deductions. Cumulative preferred stock and trust preferred securities issued after May 19, 2010, will no longer qualify as Tier 1 capital, but such securities issued prior to May 19, 2010, including in the case of bank holding companies with less than $15.0 billion in total assets on December 31, 2009, trust preferred securities issued prior to that date, will continue to count as Tier 1 capital subject to certain limitations. The definition of Tier 2 capital is generally unchanged for most banking organizations, subject to certain new eligibility criteria.

Common equity Tier 1 capital will generally consist of common stock (plus related surplus) and retained earnings plus limited amounts of minority interest in the form of common stock, less goodwill and other specified intangible assets and other regulatory deductions, including a portion of Pinnacle Bank's recorded investment in BHG (which as a minority interest in an unconsolidated financial institution is subject to specified deductions).

The final rules allow banks and their holding companies with less than $250 billion in assets a one-time opportunity to opt-out of a requirement to include unrealized gains and losses in accumulated other comprehensive income in their capital calculation. Pinnacle Financial expects that it will opt-out of this requirement.

The Federal Reserve has adopted regulations applicable to bank holding companies with assets over $10 billion that require such holding companies and banks to conduct annual stress tests and report the results to the applicable regulators and publicly disclose a summary of certain capital information and results including pro forma changes in regulatory capital ratios. For such companies, the board of directors and senior management is required to consider the results of the stress test in the normal course of business, including but not limited to capital planning and an assessment of capital adequacy in accordance with management's policies.

Failure to meet statutorily mandated capital requirements or more restrictive ratios separately established for a financial institution by its regulators could subject a bank or bank holding company to a variety of enforcement remedies, including issuance of a capital directive, the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, a prohibition on accepting or renewing brokered deposits, limitations on the rates of interest that the institution may pay on its deposits and other restrictions on its business.

Additionally, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 establishes a system of prompt corrective action to resolve the problems of undercapitalized financial institutions. Under this system, the federal banking regulators have established five capital categories (well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized) into one of which all institutions are placed. Federal banking regulators are required to take various mandatory supervisory actions and are authorized to take other discretionary actions with respect to institutions in the three undercapitalized categories. The severity of the action depends upon the capital category in which the institution is placed. Generally, subject to a narrow exception, the banking regulator must appoint a receiver or conservator within a specified period for an institution that is critically undercapitalized. The federal banking agencies have specified by regulation the relevant capital level for each category.

Under FDIC regulations effective January 1, 2015, a state regulated bank which is not a member of the Federal Reserve (a state nonmember bank) is "well capitalized" if it has a leverage capital ratio of 5% or better, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8% or better (up from 6.0% under previous regulations), a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.5%, or better, a total risk based capital ratio of 10% or better, and is not subject to a regulatory agreement, order or directive to maintain a specific level for any capital measure. A state nonmember bank is considered "adequately capitalized" if it has a leverage ratio of at least 4%, a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5%, or better, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6.0%, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.0% and does not meet the definition of a well-capitalized bank. Lower levels of capital result in a bank being considered undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized.

State nonmember banks are required to be "well capitalized" in order to take advantage of expedited procedures on certain applications, such as branches and mergers, and to accept and renew brokered deposits without further regulatory approval.

Federal banking regulators are required to take various mandatory supervisory actions and are authorized to take other discretionary actions with respect to institutions in the three undercapitalized categories. The severity of the action depends upon the capital category in which the institution is placed. Generally, subject to a narrow exception, the banking regulator must appoint a receiver or conservator for an institution that is critically undercapitalized (a ratio of tangible equity to total assets equal to or less than 2.0%). The federal banking agencies have specified by regulation the relevant capital level for each category.

An institution that is categorized as undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, or critically undercapitalized is required to submit an acceptable capital restoration plan to its appropriate federal banking agency. In addition, a bank holding company must guarantee that a subsidiary depository institution meets its capital restoration plan, subject to various limitations. The controlling holding company's obligation to fund a capital restoration plan is limited to the lesser of 5% of an undercapitalized subsidiary's assets or the amount required to meet regulatory capital requirements. An undercapitalized institution is also generally prohibited from increasing its average total assets, making acquisitions, establishing any branches or engaging in any new line of business, except under an accepted capital restoration plan or with FDIC approval. The regulations also establish procedures for downgrading an institution into a lower capital category based on supervisory factors other than capital. As of December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Bank is considered "well-capitalized".

At December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Bank's common equity Tier 1 capital ratio (calculated under the Basel III regulations) was 10.8%, its Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 11.4%, its total risk-based capital ratio was 12.6% and its leverage ratio was 10.6%, compared to 11.3%, 11.3%, 12.6% and 10.5% at December 31, 2013, respectively. At December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Financial's common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 10.1%, its tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 12.1%, its total risk-based capital ratio was 13.4% and its leverage ratio was 11.3%, compared to 10.1% 11.8%, 13.0% and 10.9% at December 31, 2013, respectively. All ratios above are in excess of regulatory requirements. More information concerning Pinnacle Financial's, and Pinnacle Bank's, regulatory ratios at December 31, 2014 is included in Note 21 to the "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Payment of Dividends

Pinnacle Financial is a legal entity separate and distinct from Pinnacle Bank. The principal source of Pinnacle Financial's cash flow, including cash flow to pay interest to its holders of subordinated debentures, and any dividends payable to common stockholders, are dividends that Pinnacle Bank pays to Pinnacle Financial as its sole stockholder. Under Tennessee law, Pinnacle Financial is not permitted to pay dividends if, after giving effect to such payment, it would not be able to pay its debts as they become due in the usual course of business or its total assets would be less than the sum of its total liabilities plus any amounts needed to satisfy any preferential rights if it were dissolving. In addition, in deciding whether or not to declare a dividend of any particular size, Pinnacle Financial's board of directors must consider its and Pinnacle Bank's current and prospective capital, liquidity, and other needs.

In addition to state law limitations on Pinnacle Financial's ability to pay dividends, commencing January 1, 2016, the Federal Reserve's capital rules impose limitations on Pinnacle Financial's ability to pay dividends if its capital conservation buffer (which is generally the amount by which its capital ratios exceed the minimum requirement for such ratio) is less than 2.5%. The limitations are phased in over three years commencing January 1, 2016. In addition to limiting dividends these restrictions also limit share repurchases and the paying of discretionary bonuses if capital levels fall below minimums plus the buffer amounts, and also limit the percentage of eligible retained income that can be utilized for those purposes.

Statutory and regulatory limitations also apply to Pinnacle Bank's payment of dividends to Pinnacle Financial. Pinnacle Bank is required by Tennessee law to obtain the prior approval of the Commissioner of the TDFI for payments of dividends if the total of all dividends declared by its board of directors in any calendar year will exceed (1) the total of Pinnacle Bank's net income for that year, plus (2) Pinnacle Bank's retained net income for the preceding two years. As of December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Bank could pay dividends to us of up to $116.5 million. Generally, federal regulatory policy encourages holding company debt to be serviced by subsidiary bank dividends or additional equity rather than debt issuances. Pinnacle Financial currently has available cash balances which amounted to approximately $36.5 million at December 31, 2014.

The payment of dividends by Pinnacle Bank and Pinnacle Financial may also be affected by other factors, such as the requirement to maintain adequate capital above statutorily mandated guidelines, or more restrictive requirements imposed on Pinnacle Bank or Pinnacle Financial by their regulators. The federal banking agencies have indicated that paying dividends that deplete a depository institution's capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice. Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991, a depository institution may not pay any dividend if payment would cause it to become undercapitalized or if it already is undercapitalized. Moreover, the federal agencies have issued policy statements that provide that bank holding companies and insured depository institutions should generally only pay dividends out of current operating earnings. See "Capital Adequacy" above.

During the fourth quarter of 2013, Pinnacle Financial Partners initiated a quarterly common stock dividend in the amount of $0.08 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Financial Partners paid $14.2 million in dividends to common shareholders. On January 20, 2015, Pinnacle Financial Partner's Board of Directors declared a $0.12 per share dividend to be paid on February 27, 2015 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 6, 2015, an increase of $0.04 or 50% over the amount of the quarterly dividends paid in the fourth quarter of 2014. The amount and timing of any future dividend payments to common shareholders will be subject to the discretion of Pinnacle Financial Partners Board of Directors.

Restrictions on Transactions with Affiliates

Both Pinnacle Financial and Pinnacle Bank are subject to the provisions of Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. Section 23A places limits on the amount of:

•	A bank's loans or extensions of credit, including purchases of assets subject to an agreement to repurchase, to affiliates;

•	A bank's investment in affiliates;

•	Assets a bank may purchase from affiliates, except for real and personal property exempted by the Federal Reserve;

•	The amount of loans or extensions of credit to third parties collateralized by the securities or obligations of affiliates;

•	Transactions involving the borrowing or lending of securities and any derivative transaction that results in credit exposure to an affiliate; and

•	A bank's guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit issued on behalf of an affiliate.

The total amount of the above transactions is limited in amount, as to any one affiliate, to 10% of a bank's capital and surplus and, as to all affiliates combined, to 20% of a bank's capital and surplus. In addition to the limitation on the amount of these transactions, each of the above transactions must also meet specified collateral requirements. Pinnacle Bank must also comply with other provisions designed to avoid the taking of low-quality assets.

Pinnacle Financial and Pinnacle Bank are also subject to the provisions of Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act which, among other things, prohibits an institution from engaging in the above transactions with affiliates unless the transactions are on terms substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the institution or its subsidiaries, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with nonaffiliated companies.

Pinnacle Bank is also subject to restrictions on extensions of credit to its executive officers, directors, principal stockholders and their related interests. These extensions of credit (1) must be made on substantially the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with third parties, and (2) must not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features.

Community Reinvestment

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires that, in connection with examinations of financial institutions within their respective jurisdictions, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC shall evaluate the record of each financial institution in meeting the credit needs of its local community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. These facts are also considered in evaluating mergers, acquisitions, and applications to open a branch or facility. Failure to adequately meet these criteria could impose additional requirements and limitations on Pinnacle Bank. Additionally, banks are required to publicly disclose the terms

of various Community Reinvestment Act-related agreements. Pinnacle Bank received an "outstanding" CRA rating from its primary federal regulator on its most recent regulatory examination.

Privacy

Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, financial institutions are required to disclose their policies for collecting and protecting confidential information. Customers generally may prevent financial institutions from sharing personal financial information with nonaffiliated third parties except for third parties that market the institutions' own products and services. Additionally, financial institutions generally may not disclose consumer account numbers to any nonaffiliated third party for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing or other marketing through electronic mail to consumers. Pinnacle Bank has established a privacy policy to ensure compliance with federal requirements.

Other Consumer Laws and Regulations

Interest and other charges collected or contracted for by Pinnacle Bank are subject to state usury laws and federal laws concerning interest rates. Pinnacle Bank's loan operations are also subject to federal laws applicable to credit transactions, such as the:


	•	Federal Truth-In-Lending Act, governing disclosures of credit terms to consumer borrowers;

	•	Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, requiring financial institutions to provide information to enable the public and public officials to determine whether a financial institution is fulfilling its obligation to help meet the housing needs of the community it serves;

	•	Equal Credit Opportunity Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, creed or other prohibited factors in extending credit;

	•	Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1978, governing the use and provision of information to credit reporting agencies;
	•	Fair Debt Collection Act, governing the manner in which consumer debts may be collected by collection agencies;

	•	Bank Secrecy Act, governing how banks and other firms report certain currency transactions and maintain appropriate safeguards against "money laundering" activities;

	•	Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, governing the repayment terms of, and property rights underlying, secured obligations of persons in active military service; and

	•	Rules and regulations of the various federal agencies charged with the responsibility of implementing the federal laws.

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress has established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") which is responsible for implementing federal consumer protection laws. Banks under $10 billion in assets will not be separately examined by the CFPB for compliance with these new laws and regulations, but will be examined for compliance by their primary federal bank regulator.

Pinnacle Bank's deposit operations are subject to the:

•	Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain confidentiality of consumer financial records and prescribes procedures for complying with administrative subpoenas of financial records; and

•

Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E issued by the Federal Reserve to implement that act, which govern automatic deposits to and withdrawals from deposit accounts and customers' rights and liabilities (including with respect to the permissibility of overdraft charges) arising from the use of automated teller machines and other electronic banking services.

Anti-Terrorism Legislation

On October 26, 2001, the President of the United States signed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, financial institutions are subject to prohibitions against specified financial transactions and account relationships as well as enhanced due diligence and "know your customer" standards in their dealings with clients and prospects including foreign financial institutions and foreign customers.

In addition, the USA PATRIOT Act authorizes the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to adopt rules increasing the cooperation and information sharing between financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement authorities regarding individuals, entities and organizations engaged in, or reasonably suspected based on credible evidence of engaging in, terrorist acts or money laundering activities. Any financial institution complying with these rules will not be deemed to have violated the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as discussed above. Pinnacle Bank currently has policies and procedures in place designed to comply with the USA PATRIOT Act.

Recent and Proposed Legislation and Regulatory Action

New regulations and statutes are regularly proposed that contain wide-ranging proposals for altering the structures, regulations and competitive relationships of the nation's financial institutions. In 2010, the U.S. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, which includes significant consumer protection provisions related to, among other things, residential mortgage loans that have increased, and are likely to further increase, our regulatory compliance costs. The ultimate impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on our businesses and results of operations will depend on continued regulatory interpretation and rulemaking, as well as the success of any of our actions to mitigate the negative earnings impact of certain provisions. We cannot predict whether or in what form any proposed regulation or statute will be adopted or the extent to which our business may be affected by any new regulation or statute. With the enactments of the Dodd-Frank Act and the significant amount of regulations that have been issued over the last four years and that are to come from the passage of that legislation, the nature and extent of the future legislative and regulatory changes affecting financial institutions and the resulting impact on those institutions remains unpredictable at this time.

Effect of Governmental Monetary Policies

Our earnings are affected by domestic economic conditions and the monetary and fiscal policies of the United States government and its agencies. The Federal Reserve's monetary policies have had, and are likely to continue to have, an important impact on the operating results of commercial banks through the Federal Reserve's statutory power to implement national monetary policy in order, among other things, to curb inflation or combat a recession. The Federal Reserve, through its monetary and fiscal policies, affects the levels of bank loans, investments and deposits through its control over the issuance of United States government securities, its regulation of the discount rate applicable to member banks and its influence over reserve requirements to which member banks are subject. We cannot predict the nature or impact of future changes in monetary and fiscal policies.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves various risks which are particular to our company, our industry and our market area. If any of the following risks were to occur, we may not be able to conduct our business as currently planned and our financial condition or operating results could be materially and negatively impacted. These matters could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline in future periods.

Negative developments in the U.S. and local economy and in local real estate markets have adversely impacted our results and may continue to adversely impact our results in the future.

Economic conditions in the markets in which we operate deteriorated significantly between early 2008 and the middle of 2010. These challenges resulted primarily from provisions for loan losses and other real estate expense related to declining collateral values in our real estate loan portfolio and increased costs associated with our portfolio of other real estate owned. Although economic conditions appear to have stabilized in our markets in the more recent periods and we have refocused our efforts on growing our earning assets, we believe that we will continue to experience a slower growth economic environment in 2015. Accordingly, we expect that our results of operations could continue to be negatively impacted by economic conditions, including reduced loan demand, in 2015. There can be no assurance that the economic conditions that have adversely affected the financial services industry, and the capital, credit and real estate markets, generally, or us in particular, will improve materially, or at all, in the near future, or thereafter, in which case we could continue to experience reduced earnings or again experience significant losses and write-downs of assets, and could face capital and liquidity constraints or other business challenges.

Fluctuations in interest rates could reduce our profitability.

The absolute level of interest rates as well as changes in interest rates may affect our level of interest income, the primary component of our gross revenue, as well as the level of our interest expense. Interest rate fluctuations are caused by many factors which, for the most part, are not under our control. For example, national monetary policy plays a significant role in the determination of interest rates. Additionally, competitor pricing and the resulting negotiations that occur with our customers also impact the rates we collect on loans and the rates we pay on deposits.

As interest rates change, we expect that we will periodically experience "gaps" in the interest rate sensitivities of our assets and liabilities, meaning that either our interest-bearing liabilities (usually deposits and borrowings) will be more sensitive to changes in market interest rates than our interest-earning assets (usually loans and investment securities), or vice versa. In either event, if market interest rates should move contrary to our position, this "gap" may work against us, and our earnings may be negatively affected. During 2014, and in anticipation of increases in short term interest rates in the second half of 2015 that we anticipate will occur, we have reduced the amount of variable rate loans with interest rate floors by approximately $300 million. We believe that the reduction in the amount of variable rate loans with interest rate floors should better position our balance sheet for a rising rate environment. In the event that short-term interest rates don't rise in the second half of 2015, our efforts to transition our balance sheet to a more asset sensitive position may negatively impact our results of operations as we may earn less interest on these loans than we would have had we maintained these loan floors.

Changes in the level of interest rates also may negatively affect our ability to originate loans, the value of our assets and our ability to realize gains from the sale of our assets, all of which ultimately affect our earnings. A decline in the market value of our assets may limit our ability to borrow additional funds. As a result, we could be required to sell some of our loans and investments under adverse market conditions, upon terms that are not favorable to us, in order to maintain our liquidity. If those sales are made at prices lower than the amortized costs of the investments, we will incur losses. Because of the number of loans that we have made with interest rate floors above current rates, in a rising rate environment our liabilities may reprice faster than our loans, which would negatively impact our results of operations.

We have entered into certain hedging transactions including interest rate swaps, which are designed to lessen elements of our interest rate exposure. In the even that interest rates do not change in the manner anticipated, such transactions may not be effective.

Our ability to declare and pay dividends is limited.

While our board of directors has approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend on our common stock since the fourth quarter of 2013, there can be no assurance of whether or when we may pay dividends on our common stock in the future. Future dividends, if any, will be declared and paid at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors. Our principal source of funds used to pay cash dividends on our common stock will be dividends that we receive from Pinnacle Bank. Although Pinnacle Bank's asset quality, earnings performance, liquidity and capital requirements will be taken into account before we declare or pay any future dividends on our common stock, our board of directors will also consider our liquidity and capital requirements and our board of directors could determine to declare and pay dividends without relying on dividend payments from Pinnacle Bank.

Federal and state banking laws and regulations and state corporate laws restrict the amount of dividends we may declare and pay. For example, Federal Reserve Board regulations implementing the capital rules required under Basel III do not permit dividends unless capital levels exceed certain higher levels applying capital conservation buffers that begin to apply on January 1, 2016 and are thereafter phased in over three years.

In addition, the terms of the indentures pursuant to which our subordinated debentures have been issued prohibit us from paying dividends on our common stock at times when we are deferring the payment of interest on our subordinated debentures. Moreover, the terms of our and our bank subsidiary's loan agreements prohibit us from paying dividends on our common stock when there is an event of default or unmatured event of default under the loan agreements or when the payment of the dividend would result in an event of default or unmatured event of default under the loan agreements.

We have a concentration of credit exposure to borrowers in certain industries, and we also target small to medium-sized businesses.

At December 31, 2014, we had meaningful credit exposures to borrowers in certain businesses, including commercial and residential building lessors, new home builders, and land subdividers. These industries experienced adversity during 2008 through 2010 as a result of sluggish economic conditions, and, as a result, an increased level of borrowers in these industries were unable to perform under their loan agreements with us, or suffered loan downgrades which negatively impacted our results of operations. If the economic environment in our markets weakens in 2015 or beyond, these industry concentrations could result in increased deterioration in credit quality, past dues, loan charge offs and collateral value declines, which could cause our earnings to be negatively impacted. Furthermore, any of our large credit exposures that deteriorate unexpectedly could cause us to have to make significant additional loan loss provisions, negatively impacting our earnings.

A substantial focus of our marketing and business strategy is to serve small to medium-sized businesses in the Nashville and Knoxville MSAs. As a result, a relatively high percentage of our loan portfolio consists of commercial loans primarily to small to medium-sized businesses. At December 31, 2014, our commercial and industrial loans accounted for almost 38.9% of our total loans, up from 31.5% at December 31, 2010. Additionally, approximately, 16.7% of our loans at December 31, 2014 are owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, which are loans to businesses secured by the businesses' real estate. We expect to seek to expand the amount and percentage of such loans in our portfolio in 2015. During periods of lower economic growth like those we have experienced in recent years, small to medium-sized businesses may be impacted more severely and more quickly than larger businesses. Consequently, the ability of such businesses to repay their loans may deteriorate, and in some cases this deterioration may occur quickly, which would adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

We are geographically concentrated in the Nashville, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee MSAs, and changes in local economic conditions impact our profitability.

We currently operate primarily in the Nashville, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee MSAs, and most of our borrowers, depositors and other customers live or have operations in these areas. Accordingly, our success significantly depends upon the growth in population, income levels, deposits and housing starts in these markets, along with the continued attraction of business ventures to the areas, and our profitability is impacted by the changes in general economic conditions in these markets. We cannot assure you that economic conditions, including loan demand, in our markets will improve during 2015 or thereafter, and in that case, we may not be able to grow our loan portfolio in line with our expectations, the ability of our customers to repay their loans to us may be negatively impacted and our financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Compared to regional or national financial institutions, we are less able to spread the risks of unfavorable local economic conditions across a large number of diversified economies. Moreover, we cannot give any assurance that we will benefit from any market growth or return of more favorable economic conditions in our primary market areas if they do occur.

If our allowance for loan losses is not sufficient to cover losses inherent in our portfolio, our earnings will decrease.

If loan customers with significant loan balances fail to repay their loans, our earnings and capital levels will suffer. We make various assumptions and judgments about the probable losses in our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of any collateral securing the loans. We maintain an allowance for loan losses to cover our estimate of the probable losses in our loan portfolio. In determining the size of this allowance, we utilize estimates based on analyses of volume and types of loans, internal loan classifications, trends in classifications, volume and trends in delinquencies, nonaccruals and charge-offs, loss experience of various loan categories, national and local economic conditions, industry and peer bank loan quality indications, and other pertinent factors and information. If our assumptions are inaccurate, our current allowance may not be sufficient to cover potential loan losses, and additional provisions may be necessary which would decrease our earnings.

In addition, federal and state regulators periodically review our loan portfolio and may require us to increase our allowance for loan losses or recognize loan charge-offs. Their conclusions about the quality of a particular borrower or our entire loan portfolio may be different than ours. Any increase in our allowance for loan losses or loan charge offs as required by these regulatory agencies could have a negative effect on our operating results. Moreover, additions to the allowance may be necessary based on changes in economic and real estate market conditions, new information regarding existing loans, identification of additional problem loans, accounting rule changes and other factors, both within and outside of our management's control. These additions may require increased provision expense which would negatively impact our results of operations.

Our ability to grow our loan portfolio may be limited by, among other things, economic conditions, competition within our market areas, the timing of loan repayments and seasonality.

Our ability to continue to improve our operating results is dependent upon, among other things, aggressively growing our loan portfolio. While we believe that our strategy to grow our loan portfolio is sound and our growth targets are achievable over an extended period of time, competition within our market areas is significant, particularly for borrowers whose businesses have been less negatively impacted by the challenging economic conditions of the last few years. We compete with both large regional and national financial institutions, who are sometimes able to offer more attractive interest rates and other financial terms than we choose to offer, and smaller community-based financial institutions who seek to offer a similar level of service to that which we offer. This competition can make loan growth challenging, particularly if we are unwilling to price loans at levels that would cause unacceptable levels of compression of our net interest margin or if we are unwilling to structure a loan in a manner that we believe results in a level of risk to our Company that we are not willing to accept. Moreover, loan growth throughout the year can fluctuate due in part to seasonality of the businesses of our borrowers and potential borrowers and the timing on loan repayments, particularly those of our borrowers with significant relationships with us, resulting from, among other things, excess levels of liquidity.

Our investment in BHG may not produce the contribution to our results of operations that we expect.

On February 4, 2015 we acquired a 30% interest in BHG for $75 million in cash. Although we have made other investments in businesses that we do not control, this is the largest investment of this type that we have made. While we have a significant stake in BHG, are entitled to designate one member of BHG's four person board of managers and in some instances have protective rights to block BHG from engaging in certain activities, we do not control BHG and the other managers and members of BHG make most decisions regarding BHG's operations without our consent or approval, including a decision to sell BHG subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Moreover, there are certain limitations on our ability to sell our interest in BHG without first offering BHG and the other members a right of first refusal.

A significant portion of BHG's revenue (and correspondingly our interest in any of BHG's net profits) comes from the sale of loans originated by BHG to community banks, and the market for these loans. Moreover, the purchase price we paid to acquire our interest in BHG was based on our expectation that BHG will continue to grow its business and increase the amount of loans that it is able to originate and sell. In the event that BHG's loan growth slows over historical levels and the resulting loan sales decrease, its results of operations (and our interest in the net profits of BHG) would be materially and adversely affected and our non-interest income would be adversely affected. BHG currently operates in most states without the need for a permit or any other license. In the event that BHG was required to register or become licensed in any state in which it operates, or regulations are adopted that seek to limit BHG's ability to operate in any jurisdiction or that seek to limit the amounts of interest that BHG can charge on its loans, BHG's results of operations (and our interest in BHG's net profits) could be materially and adversely affected.

We anticipate that foreclosed real estate expense will continue to negatively impact our earnings.

As we acted to resolve non-performing real estate loans over the last few years, our level of other real estate owned was elevated in comparison to our first six years of operation. As a result, we experienced elevated levels of foreclosed real estate expense. Foreclosed real estate expense consists of three types of charges: maintenance costs, valuation adjustments to appraisal values and gains or losses on disposition. Should levels of other real estate owned increase or should local real estate values decline, these charges will continue to negatively impact our results of operations.

Our loan portfolio includes a meaningful amount of real estate construction and development loans, which have a greater credit risk than residential mortgage loans.

Although we have made meaningful progress over the last three years in reducing our concentration of real estate construction and development loans, the percentage of these loans in Pinnacle Bank's portfolio was approximately 7.0% of total loans at December 31, 2014. These loans make up approximately 31.0% of our non-performing loans at December 31, 2014. This type of lending is generally considered to have relatively high credit risks because the principal is concentrated in a limited number of loans with repayment dependent on the successful completion and operation of the related real estate project. The credit quality of many of these loans deteriorated during the challenging economic period of 2008 to 2012 due to the adverse conditions in the real estate market during that period and that type of deterioration could occur again. Weakness in residential real estate market prices as well as demand could result in price reductions in home and land values adversely affecting the value of collateral securing the construction and development loans that we hold. Should we experience the return of these adverse economic and real estate market conditions we may again experience increases in non-performing loans and other real estate owned, increased losses and expenses from the management and disposition of non-performing assets, increases in provision for loan losses, and increases in operating expenses as a result of the allocation of management time and resources to the collection and work out of loans, all of which would negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes to capital requirements for bank holding companies and depository institutions that became effective on January 1, 2015 may negatively impact Pinnacle Financial's and Pinnacle Bank's results of operations

In July 2013, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC approved final rules that substantially amend the regulatory risk-based capital rules applicable to Pinnacle Bank and Pinnacle Financial. The final rules, which became effective on January 1, 2015, implement the Basel III regulatory capital reforms and changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

Under these rules, the leverage and risk-based capital ratios of bank holding companies may not be lower than the leverage and risk-based capital ratios for insured depository institutions. The final rules include new minimum risk-based capital and leverage ratios. Moreover, these rules refine the definition of what constitutes "capital" for purposes of calculating those ratios, including the definitions of Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital. The new minimum capital level requirements applicable to bank holding companies and banks subject to the rules are: (i) a new common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5%; (ii) a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6% (increased from 4%); (iii) a total risk-based capital ratio of 8% (unchanged from current rules); (iv) a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4% for all institutions. The rules also establish a "capital conservation buffer" of 2.5% (to be phased in over three years) above the new regulatory minimum risk-based capital ratios, and result in the following minimum ratios once the capital conservation buffer is fully phased in: (i) a common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 7%, (ii) a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8.5%, and (iii) a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.5%. The capital conservation buffer requirement is to be phased in beginning in January 2016 at 0.625% of risk-weighted assets and would increase each year until fully implemented in January 2019. We will be subject to limitations on paying dividends, engaging in share repurchases and paying discretionary bonuses if our capital levels fall below these minimums plus the buffer amounts. These limitations establish a maximum percentage of eligible retained income that could be utilized for such actions.

Under these new rules, Tier 1 capital generally consists of common stock (plus related surplus) and retained earnings, limited amounts of minority interest in the form of additional Tier 1 capital instruments, and non-cumulative preferred stock and related surplus, subject to certain eligibility standards, less goodwill and other specified intangible assets and other regulatory deductions. Cumulative preferred stock and trust preferred securities issued after May 19, 2010, no longer qualify as Tier 1 capital, but such securities issued prior to May 19, 2010, including in the case of bank holding companies with less than $15.0 billion in total assets, trust preferred securities issued prior to that date, continue to count as Tier 1 capital subject to certain limitations. The definition of Tier 2 capital is generally unchanged for most banking organizations, subject to certain new eligibility criteria.

Common equity Tier 1 capital generally consists of common stock (plus related surplus) and retained earnings plus limited amounts of minority interest in the form of common stock, less goodwill and other specified intangible assets and other regulatory deductions.

The application of more stringent capital requirements for Pinnacle Financial and Pinnacle Bank, like those adopted to implement the Basel III reforms, could, among other things, result in lower returns on invested capital, require the raising of additional capital, and result in regulatory actions if we were to be unable to comply with such requirements. Furthermore, the imposition of liquidity requirements in connection with the implementation of Basel III could result in our having to lengthen the term of our funding, restructure our business models and/or increase our holdings of liquid assets. Implementation of changes to asset risk weightings for risk based capital calculations, items included or deducted in calculating regulatory capital and/or additional capital conservation buffers could result in management modifying its business strategy and could limit our ability to make distributions, including paying dividends or buying back shares.

We are dependent on our information technology and telecommunications systems and third-party servicers, and systems failures, interruptions or breaches of security could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks. Although we take protective measures and endeavor to modify these systems as circumstances warrant, the security of our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to breaches, unauthorized access, misuse, computer viruses or other malicious code and other events that could have a security impact. We outsource many of our major systems, such as data processing, loan servicing and deposit processing systems. The failure of these systems, or the termination of a third-party software license or service agreement on which any of these systems is based, could interrupt our operations. Because our information technology and telecommunications systems interface with and depend on third-party systems, we could experience service denials if demand for such services exceeds capacity or such third-party systems fail or experience interruptions. If sustained or repeated, a system failure or service denial could result in a deterioration of our ability to process new and renewal loans, gather deposits and provide customer service, compromise our ability to operate effectively, damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business and/or subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we provide our customers the ability to bank remotely, including over the Internet or through their mobile device. The secure transmission of confidential information is a critical element of remote and mobile banking. Our network could be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes, spam attacks, human error, natural disasters, power loss and other security breaches. We may be required to spend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches and computer viruses, or to alleviate problems caused by security breaches or viruses. To the extent that our activities or the activities of our customers involve the storage and transmission of confidential information, security breaches (including breaches of security of customer systems and networks) and viruses could expose us to claims, litigation and other possible liabilities. Any inability to prevent security breaches or computer viruses could also cause existing customers to lose confidence in our systems and could adversely affect our reputation, results of operations and ability to attract and maintain customers and businesses. In addition, a security breach could also subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, expose us to civil litigation and possible financial liability and cause reputational damage.

Environmental liability associated with commercial lending could result in losses.

In the course of business, Pinnacle Bank may acquire, through foreclosure, or deed in lieu of foreclosure, properties securing loans it has originated or purchased which are in default. Particularly in commercial real estate lending, there is a risk that hazardous substances could be discovered on these properties. In this event, we, or Pinnacle Bank, might be required to remove these substances from the affected properties at our sole cost and expense. The cost of this removal could substantially exceed the value of affected properties. We may not have adequate remedies against the prior owner or other responsible parties and could find it difficult or impossible to sell the affected properties. These events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

National or state legislation or regulation may increase our expenses and reduce earnings.

Bank regulators are increasing regulatory scrutiny, and additional restrictions (including those originating from the Dodd-Frank Act) on financial institutions have been proposed or adopted by regulators and by Congress. Changes in tax law, federal legislation, regulation or policies, such as bankruptcy laws, deposit insurance, consumer protection laws, and capital requirements, among others, can result in significant increases in our expenses and/or charge-offs, which may adversely affect our earnings. Changes in state or federal tax laws or regulations can have a similar impact. Many state and municipal governments, including the State of Tennessee, though showing signs of improvement, remain under financial stress due to the economy. As a result, these governments could seek to increase their tax revenues through increased tax levies which could have a meaningful impact on our results of operations. Furthermore, financial institution regulatory agencies are expected to continue to be very aggressive in responding to concerns and trends identified in examinations, including the continued issuance of additional formal or informal enforcement or supervisory actions. These actions, whether formal or informal, could result in our agreeing to limitations or to take actions that limit our operational flexibility, restrict our growth or increase our capital or liquidity levels. Failure to comply with any formal or informal regulatory restrictions, including informal supervisory actions, could lead to further regulatory enforcement actions. Negative developments in the financial services industry and the impact of recently enacted or new legislation in response to those developments could negatively impact our operations by restricting our business operations, including our ability to originate or sell loans, and adversely impact our financial performance. In addition, industry, legislative or regulatory developments may cause us to materially change our existing strategic direction, capital strategies, compensation or operating plans.

Implementation of the various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act may increase our operating costs or otherwise have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act. This landmark legislation includes, among other things, (i) the creation of a Financial Services Oversight Counsel to identify emerging systemic risks and improve interagency cooperation; (ii) the elimination of the Office of Thrift Supervision and the transfer of oversight of federally chartered thrift institutions and their holding companies to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve; (iii) the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency authorized to promulgate and enforce consumer protection regulations relating to financial products that would affect banks and non-bank finance companies; (iv) the establishment of new capital and prudential standards for banks and bank holding companies; (v) the termination of investments by the U.S. Treasury under TARP; (vi) enhanced regulation of financial markets, including the derivatives, securitization and mortgage origination markets; (vii) the elimination of certain proprietary trading and private equity investment activities by banks; (viii) the elimination of barriers to de novo interstate branching by banks; (ix) a permanent increase of FDIC deposit insurance to $250,000; (x) the authorization of interest-bearing transaction accounts; and (xi) changes in how the FDIC deposit insurance assessments will be calculated and an increase in the minimum designated reserve ratio for the Deposit Insurance Fund.

Certain provisions of the legislation are not immediately effective or are subject to required studies and implementing regulations. Further, community banks with less than $10 billion in assets (like us) are exempt from certain provisions of the legislation. In the event that our assets were to exceed $10 billion, we would become subject to these additional regulations and our results of operations may be materially impacted by the additional costs to comply with these additional regulations. Although several regulations implementing portions of the Dodd-Frank Act have been promulgated, we are still unable to predict how this significant new legislation may be interpreted and enforced or how implementing regulations and supervisory policies may affect us. There can be no assurance that these or future reforms will not significantly increase our compliance or operating costs or otherwise have a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Future expansion and acquisitions may result in additional risks.

We expect to continue to expand through additional branches and may consider other geographic expansion, including possible acquisitions of all or part of other financial institutions. Such expansions involve various risks, including:

·	The difficulty of successfully integrating the acquired institutions or branches with our existing systems;

·	Inaccurate estimates or assessments of the future management, market, operating results or credit quality of acquired institutions or branches or products

·	Incurrence of goodwill and other intangibles and potential for potential impairment of these intangibles and the adverse impact on future results of operations;

·	Potential for loss of employees or customers of the acquired institution or branch and difficulty of attracting new employees and customers to denovo branches; and

·	Potential for diversion or disruption of our existing operations or management as well as those of the acquired institution.

Our ability to maintain required capital levels and adequate sources of funding and liquidity could be impacted by changes in the capital markets and deteriorating economic and market conditions.

We, and Pinnacle Bank, are required to maintain certain capital levels established by banking regulations or specified by bank regulators, including those capital maintenance standards imposed on us as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, and we are required to serve as a source of strength to Pinnacle Bank. We must also maintain adequate funding sources in the normal course of business to support our operations and fund outstanding liabilities. Our ability to maintain capital levels, sources of funding and liquidity could be impacted by changes in the capital markets in which we operate and deteriorating economic and market conditions. Pinnacle Bank is required to obtain regulatory approval in order to pay dividends to us unless the amount of such dividends does not exceed its retained net income for that calendar year plus net income for the preceding two years. Any restriction in the ability of Pinnacle Bank to pay dividends to us could impact our ability to continue to pay dividends on our common stock. Moreover, failure by our bank subsidiary to meet applicable capital guidelines or to satisfy certain other regulatory requirements could subject our bank subsidiary to a variety of enforcement remedies available to the federal regulatory authorities.

Certain of our deposits and other funding sources may be volatile and impact our liquidity.

In addition to the traditional core deposits, such as demand deposit accounts, interest checking, money market savings and certificates of deposits less than $250,000, we utilize or in the past have utilized several noncore funding sources, such as brokered certificates of deposit, Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Cincinnati advances, federal funds purchased and other sources. We utilize these noncore funding sources to fund the ongoing operations and growth of Pinnacle Bank. The availability of these noncore funding sources is subject to broad economic conditions and to investor assessment of our financial strength and, as such, the cost of funds may fluctuate significantly and/or be restricted, thus impacting our net interest income, our immediate liquidity and/or our access to additional liquidity. We have somewhat similar risks to the extent high balance core deposits exceed the amount of deposit insurance coverage available.

We impose certain internal limits as to the absolute level of noncore funding we will incur at any point in time. Should we exceed those limitations, we may need to modify our growth plans, liquidate certain assets, participate loans to correspondents or execute other actions to allow for us to return to an acceptable level of noncore funding within a reasonable amount of time.

If the federal funds and interbank funding rates remain at current extremely low levels, our net interest margin, and consequently our net earnings, may be negatively impacted.

Because of significant competitive pressures in our market and the negative impact of these pressures on our deposit and loan pricing, coupled with the fact that a significant portion of our loan portfolio has variable rate pricing that moves in concert with changes to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors' federal funds rate or the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) (both of which are at extremely low levels as a result of current economic conditions), our net interest margin may be negatively impacted. Additionally, the amount of non-accrual loans and other real estate owned has been and may continue to be elevated. We also expect loan pricing to remain competitive in 2015 and believe that economic factors affecting broader markets will likely result in reduced yields for our investment securities portfolio. As a result, our net interest margin, and consequently our profitability, may continue to be negatively impacted in 2015 and beyond.

A decline in our stock price or expected future cash flows, or a material adverse change in our results of operations or prospects, could result in impairment of our goodwill.

A significant and sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization below book value, a significant decline in our expected future cash flows, a significant adverse change in the business climate, slower growth rates or other factors could result in impairment of our goodwill. At December 31, 2014, our goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets totaled approximately $246.4 million. If we were to conclude that a write-down of our goodwill is necessary, then the appropriate charge would likely cause a material loss. Any significant loss would further adversely impact the capacity of Pinnacle Bank to pay dividends to us without seeking prior regulatory approval, which could adversely affect our ability to pay required interest payments and preferred stock dividends.

Competition with other banking institutions could adversely affect our profitability.

A number of banking institutions in the Nashville and Knoxville MSAs have higher lending limits, more banking offices, and a larger market share of loans or deposits than do we. In addition, our asset management division competes with numerous brokerage firms and mutual fund companies which are also much larger. In some respects, this may place these competitors in a competitive advantage. This competition may limit or reduce our profitability, reduce our growth and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Inability to retain senior management and key employees or to attract new experienced financial services professionals could impair our relationship with our customers, reduce growth and adversely affect our business.

We have assembled a senior management team which has substantial background and experience in banking and financial services in the Nashville and Knoxville markets. Moreover, much of our loan growth in 2012 through 2014 was the result of our ability to attract experienced financial services professionals who have been able to attract customers from other financial institutions. Inability to retain these key personnel or to continue to attract experienced lenders with established books of business could negatively impact our growth because of the loss of these individuals' skills and customer relationships and/or the potential difficulty of promptly replacing them.

We are subject to certain litigation, and our expenses related to this litigation may adversely affect our results.

We are from time to time subject to certain litigation in the ordinary course of our business. These claims and legal actions, including supervisory actions by our regulators, could involve large monetary claims and significant defense costs. The outcome of these cases is uncertain. However, we have seen both the number of cases and our expenses related to those cases increase. Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause significant reputational harm to us, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.

We may issue additional common stock or other equity securities in the future which could dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders.

In order to maintain our or Pinnacle Bank's capital at desired or regulatory-required levels, we may issue additional shares of common stock, or securities convertible into, exchangeable for or representing rights to acquire shares of common stock. We may sell these shares at prices below the current market price of shares, and the sale of these shares may significantly dilute stockholder ownership. We could also issue additional shares in connection with acquisitions of other financial institutions, which would also dilute stockholder ownership.

Even though our common stock is currently traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market's Global Select Market, it has less liquidity than many other stocks quoted on a national securities exchange.

The trading volume in our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market has been relatively low when compared with larger companies listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market or other stock exchanges. Although we have experienced increased liquidity in our stock, we cannot say with any certainty that a more active and liquid trading market for our common stock will continue to develop. Because of this, it may be more difficult for stockholders to sell a substantial number of shares for the same price at which stockholders could sell a smaller number of shares.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, that future sales of our common stock in the market, or the availability of shares of common stock for sale in the market, will have on the market price of our common stock. We can give no assurance that sales of substantial amounts of common stock in the market, or the potential for large amounts of sales in the market, would not cause the price of our common stock to decline or impair our future ability to raise capital through sales of our common stock.

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly, and may fluctuate in the future. These fluctuations may be unrelated to our performance. General market or industry price declines or overall market volatility in the future could adversely affect the price of our common stock, and the current market price may not be indicative of future market prices.

If a change in control is delayed or prevented, the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected.

Provisions in our corporate documents, as well as certain federal and state regulations, may make it difficult and expensive to pursue a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that our board of directors opposes. As a result, our stockholders may not have an opportunity to participate in such a transaction, and the trading price of our stock may not rise to the level of other institutions that are more vulnerable to hostile takeovers. Anti-takeover provisions contained in our charter also will make it more difficult for an outside stockholder to remove our current board of directors or management.

Holders of Pinnacle Financial's indebtedness and junior subordinated debentures have rights that are senior to those of Pinnacle Financial's stockholders.

Pinnacle Financial has issued trust preferred securities from special purpose trusts and accompanying junior subordinated debentures. At December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Financial had outstanding trust preferred securities and accompanying junior subordinated debentures totaling $82.5 million. Payments of the principal and interest on the trust preferred securities of these trusts are conditionally guaranteed by Pinnacle Financial. Further, the accompanying junior subordinated debentures Pinnacle Financial issued to the trusts are senior to Pinnacle Financial's shares of common stock. As a result, Pinnacle Financial must make payments on the junior subordinated debentures before any dividends can be paid on common stock and, in the event of Pinnacle Financial's bankruptcy, dissolution or liquidation, the holders of the junior subordinated debentures must be satisfied before any distributions can be made on Pinnacle Financial's common stock. Pinnacle Financial has the right to defer distributions on its junior subordinated debentures (and the related trust preferred securities) for up to five years, during which time no dividends may be paid on its common stock. If our financial condition deteriorates or if we do not receive required regulatory approvals, we may be required to defer distributions on our junior subordinated debentures.

On June 15, 2012, Pinnacle Financial entered into a loan agreement with a bank for $25 million, which was subsequently amended on October 2, 2013 (the "Loan Agreement"). Borrowings under the Loan Agreement, combined with available cash, were used for the redemption, on June 20, 2012, of the remaining 71,250 shares of preferred stock owned by the U.S. Treasury that had been issued under the CPP. Pinnacle Financial is required to make quarterly principal payments of $625,000 which began on September 30, 2012, until the loan matures on June 15, 2017. The Loan Agreement includes negative covenants that limit, among other things, certain fundamental transactions, additional indebtedness, transactions with affiliates, liens, and sales of assets. As amended, the Loan Agreement permits Pinnacle Financial to pay dividends so long as there is no event of default or unmatured event of default under the Loan Agreement and the payment of the dividend would not cause an event of default or unmatured event of default. The Loan Agreement specifically restricts transfers or encumbrances of the shares of the capital stock of Pinnacle Financial's bank subsidiary. The Loan Agreement also includes financial covenants related to Pinnacle Financial's, and in some cases, Pinnacle Bank's, capitalization, levels of risk-based capital, ratio of nonperforming assets to tangible primary capital and ratio of allowance for loan and lease losses to nonperforming loans. The Loan Agreement also contains other customary affirmative and negative covenants, representations, warranties and events of default, which include but are not limited to, payment defaults, breaches of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, events of bankruptcy and insolvency, and the institution of certain regulatory enforcement actions against Pinnacle Financial or Pinnacle Bank. If an event of default occurs and is continuing, Pinnacle Financial may be required immediately to repay all amounts outstanding under the Loan Agreement. Furthermore, in the event of Pinnacle Financial's bankruptcy, dissolution or liquidation, the holders of this borrowing must be satisfied before any distributions can be made on Pinnacle Financial's common stock.

On February 4, 2015, Pinnacle Bank entered into a loan agreement (the "Bank Loan Agreement") with a bank for $40 million, the borrowings from which Pinnacle Bank used to acquire a 30% interest in BHG. The Bank Loan Agreement contains many of the same affirmative and negative covenants as are in the Loan Agreement. If an event of default occurs under the Bank Loan Agreement, Pinnacle Bank may be required to pay all amounts outstanding under the Bank Loan Agreement. Moreover, in the event of Pinnacle Bank's bankruptcy, dissolution or liquidation the obligations under the Bank Loan Agreement must be repaid before any distributions can be made to Pinnacle Financial.

Our business is dependent on technology, and an inability to invest in technological improvements may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The financial services industry is undergoing rapid technological changes with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. In addition to better serving customers, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to reduce costs. We have made significant investments in data processing, management information systems and internet banking accessibility. Our future success will depend in part upon our ability to create additional efficiencies in our operations through the use of technology. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements. We cannot make assurances that our technological improvements will increase our operational efficiency or that we will be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers.

We are subject to various statutes and regulations that may impose additional costs or limit our ability to take certain actions.

We operate in a highly regulated industry and are subject to examination, supervision, and comprehensive regulation by various regulatory agencies. Our compliance with these regulations is costly and restricts certain of our activities, including payment of dividends, mergers and acquisitions, investments, loans and interest rates charged on loans, interest rates paid on deposits and locations of offices. We are also subject to capital requirements established by our regulators, which require us to maintain specified levels of capital. It is possible that our FDIC assessments may increase in the future. Any future assessment increases could negatively impact our results of operations. Significant changes in laws and regulations applicable to the banking industry have been recently adopted and others are being considered in Congress. We cannot predict the effects of these changes on our business and profitability. Because government regulation greatly affects the business and financial results of commercial banks and bank holding companies, our cost of compliance could adversely affect our ability to operate profitably.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The Company's executive offices are located at 150 Third Avenue South, Suite 900, Nashville, Tennessee. The Company operates 34 banking locations throughout our market areas, including 10 for which the Company leases the land, the building or both. The Company has locations in the Tennessee municipalities of Nashville, Knoxville, Murfreesboro, Dickson, Ashland City, Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, Franklin, Brentwood, Hendersonville, Goodlettsville, Smyrna and Shelbyville.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Various legal proceedings to which Pinnacle Financial or a subsidiary of Pinnacle Financial is party arise from time to time in the normal course of business. As of the date hereof, there are no material pending legal proceedings to which Pinnacle Financial or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of its or its subsidiaries' properties are subject.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Pinnacle Financial's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "PNFP" and has traded on that market since July 3, 2006. The following table shows the high and low sales price information for Pinnacle Financial's common stock for each quarter in 2014 and 2013 as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

	Price Per Share
	High		Low
2014:
First quarter	$	39.10	$	30.68
Second quarter		39.85		32.77
Third quarter		40.10		34.73
Fourth quarter		40.30		33.93
2013:
First quarter	$	23.94	$	18.97
Second quarter		26.30		21.32
Third quarter		30.18		25.79
Fourth quarter		33.36		29.48

As of February 18, 2014, Pinnacle Financial had approximately 35,809,746 stockholders of record.

During the fourth quarter of 2013, we paid a quarterly dividend on our common stock for the first time. The amount of the initial dividend was $0.08 per share. During 2014, we paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 during each of the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2014. During the first quarter of 2015, we declared a dividend of $0.12 per share to be paid on February 27, 2015. See ITEM 1. "Business – Supervision and Regulation – Payment of Dividends" and ITEM 7. "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for additional information on dividend restrictions applicable to Pinnacle Financial and Pinnacle Bank.

In connection with the settlement of income tax liabilities associated with the Company's equity compensation plans, Pinnacle Financial repurchased shares of its common stock during the quarter ended December 31, 2014 as follows:

Period	Total Number of Shares Repurchased		Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs		Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
October 1, 2014 to October 31, 2014		440	$	37.93		-		-
November 1, 2014 to November 30, 2014		1,554		38.61		-		-
December 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014		-		-		-		-
Total		1,994	$	38.46		-		-

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

	2014		2013		2012		2011			2010
Total assets	$	6,018,248	$	5,563,776	$	5,040,549	$	4,863,951		$	4,909,004
Loans, net of unearned income		4,590,027		4,144,493		3,712,162		3,291,351			3,212,440
Allowance for loan losses		67,359		67,970		69,417		73,975			82,575
Total securities		770,730		733,252		707,153		897,292			1,018,637
Goodwill, core deposit and other intangible assets		246,422		247,492		249,144		251,919			254,795
Deposits and securities sold under agreements to repurchase		4,876,600		4,603,938		4,129,855		3,785,931			3,979,352
Advances from FHLB		195,476		90,637		75,850		226,069			121,393
Subordinated debt and other borrowings		96,158		98,658		106,158		97,476			97,476
Stockholders' equity		802,693		723,708		679,071		710,145			677,457

Statement of Operations Data:
Interest income	$	206,170	$	191,282	$	185,422	$	188,346		$	203,348
Interest expense		13,185		15,384		22,557		36,882			58,975
Net interest income		192,985		175,899		162,865		151,464			144,373
Provision for loan losses		3,635		7,856		5,569		21,798			53,695
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		189,350		168,042		157,296		129,666			90,678
Noninterest income		52,602		47,104		43,397		37,940			36,315
Noninterest expense		136,300		129,261		138,165		139,107			146,883
Income (loss) before income taxes		105,653		85,884		62,527		28,499			(19,890	)
Income tax expense (benefit)		35,182		28,158		20,643		(15,238	)		4,410
Net income (loss)		70,471		57,726		41,884		43,737			(24,300	)
Preferred dividends and accretion on common stock warrants		-		-		3,814		6,665			6,142
Net income (loss) available to common stockholders	$	70,471	$	57,726	$	38,070	$	37,072		$	(30,442	)

Per Share Data:
Earnings (loss) per share available to common stockholders – basic	$	2.03	$	1.69	$	1.12	$	1.11		$	(0.93	)
Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic		34,723,335		34,200,770		33,899,667		33,420,015			32,789,871
Earnings (loss) per common share available to common stockholders – diluted	$	2.01	$	1.67	$	1.10	$	1.09		$	(0.93	)
Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted		35,126,890		34,509,261		34,487,808		34,060,228			32,789,871
Common dividends per share	$	0.32	$	0.08		-		-			-
Book value per common share	$	22.45	$	20.55	$	19.57	$	18.56		$	17.22
Tangible book value per common share	$	15.62	$	13.52	$	12.39	$	11.33		$	9.80
Common shares outstanding at end of period		35,732,483		35,221,941		34,696,597		34,354,960			33,870,380

Performance Ratios:
Return on average assets	1.24	%	1.11	%	0.78	%	0.77	%	(0.61	%)
Return on average stockholders' equity	9.19	%	8.22	%	5.46	%	5.27	%	(4.37	%)
Net interest margin ⁽¹⁾	3.75	%	3.77	%	3.77	%	3.55	%	3.25	%
Net interest spread ⁽²⁾	3.65	%	3.65	%	3.61	%	3.33	%	2.99	%
Noninterest income to average assets	0.92	%	0.90	%	0.89	%	0.78	%	0.72	%
Noninterest expense to average assets	2.39	%	2.48	%	2.83	%	2.88	%	2.93	%
Efficiency ratio ⁽³⁾	55.50	%	57.96	%	66.99	%	73.45	%	81.29	%
Average loan to average deposit ratio	93.15	%	93.46	%	92.78	%	86.76	%	87.64	%
Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities	142.64	%	137.78	%	131.44	%	125.84	%	120.27	%
Average equity to average total assets ratio	13.46	%	13.47	%	14.30	%	14.55	%	13.90	%
Dividend payout ratio⁽⁴⁾	16.67	%	20.38	%	-		-		-

Asset Quality Ratios:
Allowance for loan losses to nonaccrual loans	403.20	%	373.80	%	304.20	%	154.60	%	102.10	%
Allowance for loan losses to total loans	1.47	%	1.64	%	1.87	%	2.25	%	2.57	%
Nonperforming assets to total assets	0.46	%	0.60	%	0.82	%	1.80	%	2.86	%
Nonperforming assets to total loans and other real estate	0.61	%	0.80	%	1.11	%	2.66	%	4.29	%
Net loan charge-offs to average loans	0.10	%	0.24	%	0.29	%	0.94	%	1.96	%

Capital Ratios (Pinnacle Financial):
Leverage ⁽⁵⁾	11.30	%	10.90	%	10.60	%	11.40	%	10.70	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital	12.10	%	11.80	%	11.80	%	13.80	%	13.80	%
Total risk-based capital	13.40	%	13.00	%	13.00	%	15.30	%	15.40	%

(1)	Net interest margin is the result of net interest income for the period divided by average interest earning assets.

(2)	Net interest spread is the result of the difference between the interest earned on interest earning assets less the interest paid on interest bearing liabilities.

(3)	Efficiency ratio is the result of noninterest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and noninterest income.

(4)	Annualized for 2013.

(5)	Leverage ratio is computed by dividing Tier 1 capital by average total assets for the fourth quarter of each year.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following is a discussion of our financial condition at December 31, 2014 and 2013 and our results of operations for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2014. The purpose of this discussion is to focus on information about our financial condition and results of operations which is not otherwise apparent from the consolidated financial statements. The following discussion and analysis should be read along with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere herein.

Overview

General. Our diluted net income per common share available to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $2.01 compared to diluted net income per common share available to common stockholders of $1.67 and $1.10 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Results of operations. Our net interest income increased to $193.0 million for 2014 compared to $175.9 million for 2013 and $162.9 million for 2012. The net interest margin (the ratio of net interest income to average earning assets) for 2014 was 3.75% compared to 3.77% for both 2013 and 2012. Our net interest margin was impacted favorably in all three years by loan growth, an increased effort to reduce our cost of funds and a decreased dependency on higher priced funding.

Our provision for loan losses was $3.6 million for 2014 compared to $7.9 million in 2013 and $5.6 million in 2012. Our net charge-offs were $4.2 million during 2014 compared to $9.3 million in 2013 and $10.1 million in 2012. During 2014, we decreased our allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans from 1.64% at December 31, 2013 to 1.47% at December 31, 2014 primarily due to the ongoing resolution of non-performing loans, the reduction in our net charge-offs and improvements in the overall credit quality of our loan portfolio during 2014.

Noninterest income for 2014 compared to 2013 increased by $5.5 million, or 11.7%. This growth was primarily attributable to an increased number of deposit accounts which resulted in increased service charge and interchange revenues as well as increased production in our fee-based products such as investments, insurance and trust. Noninterest income for 2013 compared to 2012 increased by $3.7 million, or 8.5%, which was also largely impacted by increased production in our fee-based products such as investments, insurance and trust.

Noninterest expense for 2014 compared to 2013 increased by $7.0 million, or 5.5%, primarily due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits expense, which increased by $5.7 million and higher equipment and occupancy costs due to the expansion of our corporate headquarters in Nashville, TN as well as the addition of an office in Knoxville, TN during the fourth quarter of 2014, partly offset by decreased other real estate owned expense. Noninterest expense for 2013 compared to 2012 decreased by $8.9 million, or 6.4%, primarily due to decreased other real estate owned expenses, which decreased by $8.4 million over the 2012 levels, decreased amortization expense of $1.5 million, and decreased other noninterest expenses of $4.3 million offset in part by higher salaries and employee benefits expense, which increased by $4.6 million. The number of full-time equivalent employees increased from 730.5 at December 31, 2012 to 751.0 and 764.0 at December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Income tax expense for 2014 was $35.2 million compared to $28.2 million in 2013 and $20.6 million in 2012. The effective income tax expense rate for the year ended December 31, 2014 was approximately 33.3% compared to 32.8% and 33.0% for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. For each of the three years ended December 31, 2014, our effective income tax rate differs from the statutory rates primarily due to our investments in bank qualified municipal securities, our real estate investment trust and bank-owned life insurance.

Net income available to common stockholders for 2014 was $70.5 million compared to $57.7 million in net income in 2013 and $38.1 million in 2012. Included in net income available to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2012 was approximately $3.8 million of charges related to preferred stock dividends and accretion of the preferred stock discount related to our participation in the U.S. Treasury's TARP Capital Purchase Program (CPP). The charges associated with the preferred stock in fiscal 2012 included the acceleration of the preferred stock discount associated with the redemption of the remaining 71,250 shares of Series A preferred stock during the second quarter of 2012.

Financial Condition. Our loan balances increased by $445.5 million during 2014 compared to an increase of $432.3 million in 2013. The increase in our outstanding loan balances represents the result of increases in the number of relationship advisors in our markets and increased focus on attracting new customers to our Company.

Total deposits increased from $4.533 billion at December 31, 2013 to $4.783 billion at December 31, 2014. Within our deposits, the ratio of core funding to total deposits decreased slightly from 85.5% at December 31, 2013 to 84.8% at December 31, 2014.

We believe we have hired experienced relationship managers that have significant client portfolios and longstanding reputations within the communities we serve. As such, we believe they will attract more relationship managers to our firm as well as loans and deposits from new and existing small-and middle-market clients as the economies in our principal markets continue to expand.

Capital and Liquidity. At December 31, 2014 and 2013, our capital ratios, including our bank's capital ratios, exceeded regulatory minimum capital requirements. From time to time we may be required to support the capital needs of our bank subsidiary. We believe we have various capital raising techniques available to us to provide for the capital needs of our bank, if necessary.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The accounting principles we follow and our methods of applying these principles conform with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and with general practices within the banking industry. In connection with the application of those principles, we have made judgments and estimates which, in the case of the determination of our allowance for loan losses, the valuation of other real estate owned, the assessment of the valuation of deferred tax assets and the assessment of impairment of intangibles, has been critical to the determination of our financial position and results of operations.

Allowance for Loan Losses (allowance). Our management assesses the adequacy of the allowance prior to the end of each calendar quarter. This assessment includes procedures to estimate the allowance and test the adequacy and appropriateness of the resulting balance. The level of the allowance is based upon management's evaluation of the loan portfolio, loan loss experience, asset quality trends, known and inherent risks in the portfolio, adverse situations that may affect the borrowers' ability to repay the loan (including the timing of future payment), the estimated value of any underlying collateral, composition of the loan portfolio, economic conditions, industry and peer bank loan quality indications and other pertinent factors, including regulatory recommendations. The level of allowance maintained by management is believed adequate to absorb probable losses inherent in the loan portfolio at the balance sheet date. The allowance is increased by provisions charged to expense and decreased by charge-offs, net of recoveries of amounts previously charged-off. Allocation of the allowance may be made for specific loans, but the entire allowance is available for any loan that, in management's judgment, is deemed uncollectible.

In assessing the adequacy of the allowance, we also consider the results of our ongoing independent loan review process. We undertake this process both to ascertain those loans in the portfolio with elevated credit risk and to assist in our overall evaluation of the risk characteristics of the entire loan portfolio. Our loan review process includes the judgment of management, independent internal loan reviewers, and reviews that may have been conducted by third-party reviewers including regulatory examiners. We incorporate relevant loan review results in the allowance.

Our allowance for loan losses is composed of the result of two independent analyses pursuant to the provisions of ASC 450-20, Loss Contingencies and ASC 310-10-35, Receivables. The ASC 450-20 analysis is intended to quantify the inherent risk in our performing loan portfolio. The component of the allowance generated by ASC 310-10-35 is the result of a loan-by-loan analysis of impaired loans $250,000 and greater and the resulting impairment percentage being applied to all loans below $250,000.

The ASC 450-20 component of the allowance for loan losses begins with a process of estimating the probable losses based on our internal system of risk ratings and historical loss data for our risk rated portfolio. Prior to 2010, because of our limited loss history, loss estimates were primarily derived from historical loss data by loan categories for comparable peer institutions. During 2010, we incorporated the results of our own historical migration analysis of all loans that were charged-off during the prior eight quarters. The look-back period in our migration analysis was extended in 2011 to eleven quarters to continue to include the losses incurred in the second quarter of 2009. Subsequently, we have increased our look-back period each quarter to

include the most recent quarters' loss history for a total of 23 quarters as of December 31, 2014. In this current economic environment, we believe the extension of our look-back period in our migration analysis has been appropriate due to the risks inherent in our loan portfolio. Additionally, as the most recent 12 quarters are considered more relevant in this current economic cycle, they have been weighted more than the earliest 11 quarters. The weighting of these quarters will be determined based upon our assessment of the relevance of each quarter in the economic cycle. During the fourth quarter of 2014, we validated our loss emergence period in order to improve our assessment of the migration loss analysis. The loss emergence period is the length of time from an initial event which triggered the loss to the recognition of the loss. The loss emergence period was determined for the losses in each category of loans and then applied to the resulting loss migration analysis. The application of a loss emergence period adjusts the migration analysis for each loan category to a more precise length of time which may be greater than or less than one year. This migration analysis assists in evaluating loan loss allocation rates for the various risk grades assigned to loans in our portfolio.

The allowance allocation for non risk-rated portfolios is based on consideration of our actual historical loss rates and are evaluated as a group by category rather than on an individual loan basis because these loans are smaller and homogeneous. We weight the allocation methodologies for the non risk-rated loan portfolio and determine a weighted average allocation for these portfolios.

The estimated loan loss allocation for all loan segments is then adjusted for management's estimate of probable losses for a number of environmental factors that have not been fully considered in either the loan by loan impairment or migration analyses. The environmental categories and the measurements used to quantify the risks within each of these categories are subjectively selected by management. The data for each measurement is determined from both internal and external sources. The resulting measurements are assigned a risk factor against the non impaired loan portfolio based upon where each measurement falls on a pre-determined level of risk on a nine point scale. This amount represents estimated probable inherent credit losses which exist, but have not yet been identified either in our risk rating or impairment process, as of the balance sheet date, and is based upon quarterly trend assessments in various concentrations, policy exceptions, economic conditions, loan volume changes, independent loan review, collateral considerations, trends in credit quality, trends in competition and regulatory requirements, enterprise wide risk assessments, modeling risks within the allowance process and peer group credit quality. These environmental factors are considered for each of the five loan segments, and the allowance allocation, as determined by the processes noted above for each segment, is increased or decreased based on the incremental assessment of these various environmental factors.

The ASC 450-20 portion of the allowance also includes an unallocated component. We believe that the unallocated amount is warranted for inherent factors that cannot be practically assigned to individual loan categories, such as the imprecision in the overall loss allocation measurement process, the subjectivity risk of not considering all relevant environmental categories and related measurements and imprecision in our credit risk ratings process.

The second component of the allowance for loan losses is determined pursuant to ASC 310-10-35. Loans are impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will be unable to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. Collection of all amounts due according to the contractual terms means collecting all interest and principal payments of a loan as scheduled in the loan agreement. This evaluation is inherently subjective as it requires material estimates including the amounts and timing of future cash flows expected to be received on impaired loans that may be susceptible to significant change. Loan losses are charged off when management believes that the full collectability of the loan is unlikely. A loan may be partially charged-off after a "confirming event" has occurred which serves to validate that full repayment pursuant to the terms of the loan is unlikely.

An impairment allowance is recognized if the fair value of the loan is less than the recorded investment in the loan (recorded investment in the loan is the principal balance plus any accrued interest, net of deferred loan fees or costs and unamortized premium or discount). The impairment is recognized through the provision for loan losses and is a component of the allowance. Loans that are impaired are recorded at the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan's effective interest rate, or if the loan is collateral dependent, at the fair value of the collateral, less estimated disposal costs. If the loan is collateral dependent, the principal balance of the loan is charged-off in an amount equal to the impairment measurement. The fair value of collateral dependent loans is derived primarily from collateral appraisals performed by independent third-party appraisers. Management believes it follows appropriate accounting and regulatory guidance in determining impairment and accrual status of impaired loans.

Pursuant to the guidance set forth in ASU No. 2011-02, A Creditor's Determination of Whether a Restructuring is a Troubled Debt Restructuring, the above impairment methodology is also applied to those loans identified as troubled debt restructurings.

We then test the resulting allowance by comparing the balance in the allowance to historical trends and industry and peer information. Our management then evaluates the result of the procedures performed, including the results of our testing, and decides on the appropriateness of the balance of the allowance in its entirety. The audit committee of our board of directors reviews and approves the methodology and resultant allowance prior to the filing of quarterly and annual financial information.

While our policies and procedures used to estimate the allowance for loan losses, as well as the resultant provision for loan losses charged to operations, are considered adequate by management and are reviewed from time to time by our regulators, they are necessarily approximate and inherently imprecise. There are factors beyond our control, such as conditions in the local, national, and international economy, a local real estate market or particular industry conditions which may negatively impact materially our asset quality and the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and thus the resulting provision for loan losses.

Other Real Estate Owned. Other real estate owned (OREO), which consists of properties obtained through foreclosure or through deed in lieu of foreclosure in satisfaction of loans, is reported at the lower of cost or fair value based on appraised value less selling costs, estimated as of the date acquired, with any loss recognized as a charge-off through the allowance for loan losses. Additional OREO losses for subsequent downward valuation adjustments are determined on a specific property basis and are included as a component of other noninterest expense along with holding costs. The fair value of other real estate owned is derived primarily from independent appraisers. Our internal policies generally require OREO properties to be appraised every nine months. Any net gains or losses on disposal realized at the time of disposal are reflected, net, in noninterest income or noninterest expense, as applicable. Significant judgments and complex estimates are required in estimating the fair value of other real estate owned, and the period of time within which such estimates can be considered current is significantly shortened during periods of market volatility, as experienced during the last few years. As a result, the net proceeds realized from sales transactions could differ significantly from appraisals, comparable sales, and other estimates used to determine the fair value of other real estate owned.

Impairment of Intangible Assets. Long-lived assets, including purchased intangible assets subject to amortization, such as our core deposit intangible asset, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Assets to be disposed of would be separately presented in the balance sheet and reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell, and are no longer depreciated. There are no such assets to be disposed of at December 31, 2014.

Goodwill is evaluated for impairment annually and more frequently if events and circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. Our annual assessment date is September 30. An impairment loss is recognized to the extent that the carrying amount exceeds the asset's fair value.

ASC 350, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other, regarding testing goodwill for impairment provides an entity the option to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If an entity does a qualitative assessment and determines it is necessary, or if a qualitative assessment is not performed, it is required to perform a two-step goodwill impairment test to identify potential goodwill impairment and measure the amount of goodwill impairment loss to be recognized for that reporting unit (if any). If, based on a qualitative assessment, an entity determines that the fair value of a reporting unit is more than its carrying amount, the two-step goodwill impairment test is not required. The results of our qualitative assessment indicated that the fair value of our reporting unit was more than its carrying value, and accordingly, the two-step goodwill impairment test was not performed.

Should our common stock price decline or other impairment indicators become known, additional impairment testing of goodwill may be required. Should it be determined in a future period that the goodwill has become impaired, then a charge to earnings will be recorded in the period such determination is made. While we believe that the assumptions utilized in our testing were appropriate, they may not reflect actual outcomes that could occur.

Specific factors that could negatively impact the assumptions used include the following: a change in the control premium being realized in the market or a meaningful change in the number of mergers and acquisitions occurring; the amount of expense savings that may be realized in an acquisition scenario; significant fluctuations in our asset/liability balances or the composition of our balance sheet; a change in the overall valuation of the stock market, specifically bank stocks; performance of Southeast U.S. Banks; and Pinnacle Financial's performance relative to peers. Changing these assumptions, or any other key assumptions, could have a material impact on the amount of goodwill impairment, if any.

Results of Operations

The following is a summary of our results of operations for 2014, 2013 and 2012 (in thousands except per share data):

	Years ended December 31,				2014-2013 Percent Increase			Year ended December 31,		2013-2012 Percent Increase
	2014		2013		(Decrease)			2012		(Decrease)

Interest income	$	206,170	$	191,282		7.78	%	$	185,422		3.16	%
Interest expense		13,185		15,384		(14.29	%)		22,557		(31.80	%)
Net interest income		192,985		175,898		9.71	%		162,864		8.00	%
Provision for loan losses		3,635		7,857		(53.74	%)		5,569		41.08	%
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		189,350		168,041		12.68	%		157,295		6.83	%
Noninterest income		52,602		47,104		11.67	%		43,397		8.54	%
Noninterest expense		136,300		129,261		5.45	%		138,165		(6.44	%)
Net income before income taxes		105,653		85,884		23.02	%		62,527		37.35	%
Income tax expense		35,182		28,158		24.94	%		20,643		36.41	%
Net income		70,471		57,726		22.08	%		41,884		37.82	%
Preferred dividends and preferred stock discount accretion		-		-		-			3,814		(100.00	%)
Net income available to common stockholders	$	70,471	$	57,726		22.08	%	$	38,070		51.63	%
Basic net income per common share available to common stockholders	$	2.03	$	1.69		20.24	%	$	1.12		50.70	%
Diluted net income per common share available to common stockholders	$	2.01	$	1.67		19.93	%	$	1.10		52.07	%

Net Interest Income. Net interest income represents the amount by which interest earned on various earning assets exceeds interest paid on deposits and other interest bearing liabilities and is the most significant component of our revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2014, we recorded net interest income of approximately $193.0 million, which resulted in a net interest margin (net interest income divided by the average balance of interest earning assets) of 3.75%. For the year ended December 31, 2013, we recorded net interest income of approximately $175.9 million, which resulted in a net interest margin of 3.77%. For the year ended December 31, 2012, we recorded net interest income of approximately $162.9 million, which resulted in a net interest margin of 3.77%.

The following table sets forth the amount of our average balances, interest income or interest expense for each category of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities and the average interest rate for total interest-earning assets and total interest-bearing liabilities, net interest spread and net interest margin for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2014 (in thousands):

	2014						2013						2012
	Average Balances		Interest		Rates/ Yields		Average Balances		Interest		Rates/ Yields		Average Balances		Interest		Rates/ Yields
Interest-earning assets:
Loans ⁽¹⁾	$	4,295,283	$	184,649	4.31	%	$	3,861,166	$	169,253	4.40	%	$	3,438,401	$	160,037	4.66	%
Securities:		-		-				-		-				-		-
Taxable		594,223		14,227	2.39	%		559,702		14,504	2.59	%		612,677		16,931	2.76	%
Tax-exempt ⁽²⁾		170,617		6,167	4.83	%		173,202		6,378	4.91	%		182,217		6,577	4.82	%
Federal funds sold and other		155,585		1,127	0.86	%		144,948		1,147	0.93	%		155,876		1,877	1.33	%
Total interest-earning assets		5,215,708		206,170	4.01	%		4,739,018		191,282	4.10	%		4,389,171		185,422	4.29	%
Nonearning assets:		-						-						-
Intangible assets		246,956						248,291						250,619
Other nonearning assets		237,383						240,018						233,764
	$	5,700,047					$	5,227,327					$	4,873,554
		-						-						-
Interest-bearing liabilities:		-						-						-
Interest-bearing deposits:		-						-						-
Interest checking	$	901,442	$	1,566	0.17	%	$	790,365	$	1,928	0.24	%	$	677,632	$	2,800	0.41	%
Savings and money market		1,975,517		5,711	0.29	%		1,714,154		5,795	0.34	%		1,575,174		7,884	0.50	%
Time deposits		477,902		2,677	0.56	%		564,766		3,998	0.71	%		644,039		6,158	0.96	%
Total interest-bearing deposits		3,354,861		9,954	0.30	%		3,069,285		11,721	0.38	%		2,896,845		16,842	0.58	%
Securities sold under agreements to repurchase		67,999		141	0.21	%		113,742		239	0.21	%		134,989		455	0.34	%
Federal Home Loan Bank advances		134,874		594	0.44	%		153,912		690	0.45	%		202,338		2,237	1.11	%
Subordinated debt and other borrowing		98,698		2,496	2.53	%		102,571		2,734	2.67	%		105,131		3,024	2.87	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities		3,656,432		13,185	0.36	%		3,439,510		15,384	0.45	%		3,339,303		22,558	0.68	%
Noninterest-bearing deposits		1,256,420		-	0.00	%		1,062,089		-	0.00	%		809,268		-	0.00	%
Total deposits and interest- bearing liabilities		4,912,852		13,185	0.27	%		4,501,599		15,384	0.34	%		4,148,571		22,558	0.54	%
Other liabilities		19,971		-				21,631		-				27,933		-
Stockholders' equity		767,224		-				704,097		-				697,050		-
	$	5,700,047		-			$	5,227,327		-			$	4,873,554		-
Net interest income			$	192,985					$	175,898					$	162,864
Net interest spread ⁽³⁾					3.65	%					3.65	%					3.61	%
Net interest margin ⁽⁴⁾					3.75	%					3.77	%					3.77	%

(1)	Average balances of nonperforming loans are included in average loan balances.

(2)	Yields based on the carrying value of those tax exempt instruments are shown on a fully tax equivalent basis.

(3)

Yields realized on interest-bearing assets less the rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities. The net interest spread calculation excludes the impact of demand deposits. Had the impact of demand deposits been included, the net interest spread for the year ended December 31, 2014 would have been 3.74% compared to a net interest spread for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 of 3.75% and 3.74%, respectively.

(4)	Net interest margin is the result of net interest income calculated on a tax-equivalent basis divided by average interest earning assets for the period.

For the year ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, our net interest spread was 3.65% in both years, while the net interest margin was 3.75% and 3.77%, respectively. The net interest spread and net interest margin were 3.61% and 3.77%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2012. The net interest margin has been greatly impacted by management's efforts to increase low cost deposits and increase loan volumes. Our loan yields decreased between 2014 and 2013 as the competition for quality loans continues to be intense and the market dictates the rate necessary in order to grow volumes. During the year ended December 31, 2014, total funding rates were less than those rates for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 by 0.07% and 0.27%, respectively. The net decrease was impacted by the continued shift in our deposit mix, as we increased our lower cost transaction account balances and concurrently reduced balances of higher cost time deposits.

Additionally, lower levels of nonaccrual loans positively impacted our net interest margin during the year ended December 31, 2014 when compared to the same period in 2013. Average nonperforming loans were $17.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to $21.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2013 and $38.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2012.

We continue to deploy various asset liability management strategies to manage our risk to interest rate fluctuations. We currently believe that short term rates will remain low for an extended period of time. We believe margin expansion over both the short and the long term will be challenging due to continued pressure on earning asset yields during this extended period of a low interest rates. Loan pricing for creditworthy borrowers is very competitive in our markets and has limited our ability to increase pricing on new and renewed loans over the last several quarters. We anticipate that this challenging competitive environment will continue in 2015.

We do believe our net interest income should increase in 2015 compared to 2014 primarily due to an increase in average earning asset volumes, primarily loans. We anticipate funding these increased earning assets by continuing to grow our core deposits, with wholesale funding limited to that required to fund the shortfall.

Rate and Volume Analysis. Net interest income increased by $17.1 million between the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and by $13.0 million between the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012. The following is an analysis of the changes in our net interest income comparing the changes attributable to rates and those attributable to volumes (in thousands):

	2014 Compared to 2013 Increase (decrease) due to									2013 Compared to 2012 Increase (decrease) due to
	Rate			Volume			Net			Rate			Volume			Net
Interest-earning assets:
Loans	$	(3,475	)	$	19,101		$	15,396		$	(8,940	)	$	18,156		$	9,216
Securities:
Taxable		(1,119	)		894			(277	)		(1,042	)		(1,385	)		(2,427	)
Tax-exempt		(139	)		(127	)		(211	)		164			(363	)		(199	)
Federal funds sold		(101	)		99			(20	)		(624	)		(106	)		(730	)
Total interest-earning assets		(4,834	)		19,967			14,888			(10,442	)		16,302			5,860

Interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing deposits:
Interest checking		(553	)		267			(362	)		(1,152	)		280			(872	)
Savings and money market		(857	)		889			(84	)		(2,520	)		431			(2,089	)
Time deposits		(847	)		(617	)		(1,321	)		(1,610	)		(550	)		(2,160	)
Total deposits		(2,257	)		539			(1,767	)		(5,282	)		161			(5,121	)
Securities sold under agreements to repurchase		-			(96	)		(98	)		(175	)		(41	)		(216	)
Federal Home Loan Bank advances		(15	)		(86	)		(96	)		(1,315	)		(232	)		(1,547	)
Subordinated debt and other borrowings		(144	)		(103	)		(237	)		(210	)		(81	)		(291	)
Total interest-bearing liabilities		(2,416	)		253			(2,198	)		(6,982	)		(193	)		(7,175	)
Net interest income	$	(2,418	)	$	19,714		$	17,086		$	(3,460	)	$	16,495		$	13,035

Changes in net interest income are attributed to either changes in average balances (volume change) or changes in average rates (rate change) for earning assets and sources of funds on which interest is received or paid. Volume change is calculated as change in volume times the previous rate while rate change is change in rate times the previous volume. The change attributed to rates and volumes (change in rate times change in volume) is considered above as a change in volume.

Provision for Loan Losses. The provision for loan losses represents a charge to earnings necessary to establish an allowance for loan losses that, in our management's evaluation, we believe to be adequate to provide coverage for the inherent losses on outstanding loans. The provision for loan losses amounted to approximately $3.6 million, $7.9 million, and $5.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively.

Impacting the provision for loan losses in any accounting period are several factors including the change in outstanding loan balances, the level of charge-offs and recoveries, the changes in the amount of impaired loans, changes in the risk ratings assigned to our loans, results of regulatory examinations, credit quality comparison to peer banks, the industry at large, and, ultimately, the results of our quarterly assessment of the inherent risks of our loan portfolio including past loan loss experience.

Provision expense for the year ended December 31, 2014 has decreased as compared to 2013, primarily due to a reduction in both net charge-offs and the overall amount of the allowance for loan losses. Provision expense for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased as compared to 2012, primarily due to growth in the loan portofolio, although both net charge offs and the overall amount of the allowance declined.

Based upon management's assessment of the loan portfolio, we adjust our allowance for loan losses to an amount deemed appropriate to adequately cover probable losses in the loan portfolio. Our allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans decreased from 1.64% at December 31, 2013 to 1.47% at December 31, 2014. Based upon our evaluation of the loan portfolio, we believe the allowance for loan losses to be adequate to absorb our estimate of probable losses existing in the loan portfolio at December 31, 2014. While our policies and procedures used to estimate the allowance for loan losses, as well as the resultant provision for loan losses charged to operations, are considered adequate by management, they are necessarily approximate and imprecise. There are factors beyond our control, such as conditions in the local and national economy, local real estate market or a particular industry or borrower which may negatively impact, materially, our asset quality and the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and, thus, the resulting provision for loan losses.

The Company believes it will continue to experience reductions in its allowance to loans ratio in 2015 which will serve to reduce provision expense; however, the Company believes that provision expense will likely increase in 2015 in comparison to 2014's provision expense as the Company expects to continue to grow its loan portfolio in 2015.

Noninterest Income. Our noninterest income is composed of several components, some of which vary significantly between annual periods. Service charges on deposit accounts and other noninterest income generally reflect our growth, while investment services, fees from the origination of mortgage loans, swap fees and gains on the sale of securities will often reflect market conditions and fluctuate from period to period.

The following is our noninterest income for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 (in thousands):

	Years ended December 31,					2014-2013 Percent Increase			Year ended December 31,			2013-2012 Percent Increase
	2014		2013			(Decrease)			2012			(Decrease)
Noninterest income:
Service charges on deposit accounts	$	11,707	$	10,558			10.88	%	$	9,918			6.45	%
Investment services		9,383		8,038			16.73	%		6,985			15.08	%
Insurance sales commissions		4,613		4,537			1.68	%		4,461			1.70	%
Gains on mortgage loans sold, net		5,630		6,243			(9.82	%)		6,699			(6.81	%)
Investment gains (losses) on sales and impairments, net		29		(1,466	)		101.98	%		2,151			(168.15	%)
Trust fees		4,601		3,747			22.79	%		3,196			17.24	%
Other noninterest income:										-
Interchange and other consumer fees		8,259		7,517			9.87	%		6,264			20.00	%
Bank-owned life insurance		2,426		2,116			14.65	%		919			130.25	%
Loan swap fees		264		1,162			(77.28	%)		203			472.41	%
Other equity investments		690		122			465.57	%		(70	)		(274.29	%)
Other noninterest income		5,000		4,529			10.40	%		2,671			69.56	%
Total other noninterest income		16,639		15,446			7.72	%		9,987			54.66	%
Total noninterest income	$	52,602	$	47,103			11.67	%	$	43,397			8.54	%

The increase in service charges on deposit accounts in 2014 compared to 2013 and 2012 is primarily related to increased analysis fees on our commercial client accounts as well as a 5.5% and 12.9% increase in deposit base when compared to 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Also included in noninterest income are commissions and fees from investment services at our financial advisory unit, Pinnacle Asset Management, a division of Pinnacle Bank. At December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Asset Management was receiving commissions and fees in connection with approximately $1.70 billion in brokerage assets held with Raymond James and Associates compared to $1.56 billion at December 31, 2013. Insurance commissions were approximately $4.6 million during 2014 and $4.5 million during 2013. Additionally, at December 31, 2014, our trust department was receiving fees on approximately $765 million and $861 million of managed and custodied assets, respectively, compared to approximately $639 million and $746 million at December 31, 2013.

Gains on mortgage loans sold consists of fees from the origination and sale of mortgage loans. These mortgage fees are for loans originated principally in both the Middle Tennessee and Knoxville markets that are subsequently sold to third-party investors. All of our mortgage loan sales transfer servicing rights to the buyer. Generally, mortgage origination fees increase in lower interest rate environments and more robust housing markets and decrease in rising interest rate environments and more challenging housing markets. Mortgage origination fees will fluctuate from quarter to quarter as the rate environment changes. Over the last several years, the reduced interest rates have provided home owners the opportunity to refinance their existing mortgages at low rates; however, as interest rates remain flat or begin to rise, we anticipate that our mortgage originations will continue to decrease from those levels realized in recent years. The fees from the origination and sale of mortgage loans have been netted against the commission expense associated with these originations.

During the year ended December 31, 2013, we recognized an other-than-temporary-impairment charge in the third quarter of 2013 of $1.5 million on approximately $23.4 million of bonds that were subsequently sold during the fourth quarter. During the year ended December 31, 2012, we realized approximately $2.2 million in net gains from the sale of $188.6 million of securities available-for-sale. To better manage our securities portfolio, we elected to sell these securities due to their relative underperfomance compared to the market, in order to minimize small dollar investments in our portfolio and due to other than temporarily impaired (OTTI) concerns on investment securities in certain municipalities. The gain we recognized in 2014 associated with bond sales was de minimis.

Included in other noninterest income are interchange and other consumer fees, gains from bank-owned life insurance, swap fees earned for the facilitation of derivative transactions for our clients, changes in the fair value of our other equity investments and other items. Interchange revenues increased as a result of increased debit and credit card transactions as compared to the comparable period in 2013. Other noninterest income included changes in the cash surrender value of bank-owned life insurance which was $2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in earnings on these bank-owned life insurance policies resulted primarily from the 2013 purchase of approximately $38 million in additional bank-owned life insurance with terms similar to our existing policies. The assets that support these policies are administered by the life insurance carriers and the income we receive (i.e., increases or decreases in the cash surrender value of the policies) on these policies is dependent upon the returns the insurance carriers are able to earn on the underlying investments that support the policies. Earnings on these policies generally are not taxable. Loan swap fees are also included in other noninterest income and decreased by $898,000 when compared to the year ended December 31, 2013 as a result of reductions in client demand for these products in the current rate environment.

Also, during the year ended December 31, 2014, we recognized approximately $690,000 in gains in the market value of our other equity investments compared to $122,000 in the prior year's comparable period. These investments are equity investments in certain nonpublic private equity funds. As such, the income associated with these investments may fluctuate from period to period. With the recent acquisition of a 30% interest in Bankers Healthcare Group LLC, we believe that our other noninterest income will increase in 2015 in comparison to 2014 as the aggregate impact of the acquisition will be recognized in other noninterest income.

Other noninterest income increased by $471,000 between 2013 and 2014. Certain fees on unused lines of credit are included in other noninterest income and can be attributed to approximately $300,000 of the increase between 2013 and 2014.

Noninterest Expense. The following is our noninterest expense for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 (in thousands):

	Years ended December 31,				2014-2013 Percent Increase			Year ended December 31,		2013-2012 Percent Increase
	2014		2013		(Decrease)			2012		(Decrease)
Noninterest expense:
Salaries and employee benefits:
Salaries	$	48,935	$	46,774		4.62	%	$	45,900		1.90	%
Commissions		5,397		4,642		16.26	%		4,283		8.38	%
Annual cash incentives		20,534		18,413		11.52	%		14,979		22.93	%
Employee benefits and other		13,454		12,818		4.96	%		12,895		(0.60	%)
Total salaries and employee benefits		88,320		82,647		6.86	%		78,057		5.88	%
Equipment and occupancy		24,087		21,273		13.23	%		20,420		4.18	%
Other real estate expense		664		3,113		(78.67	%)		11,544		(73.03	%)
Marketing and business development		4,128		3,639		13.44	%		3,636		0.08	%
Postage and supplies		2,392		2,250		6.31	%		2,380		(5.46	%)
Amortization of intangibles		948		1,263		(24.94	%)		2,739		(53.89	%)
Other noninterest expense:									-
Deposit related expenses		4,619		4,631		(0.26	%)		4,856		(4.63	%)
Lending related expenses		4,132		2,926		41.22	%		3,768		(22.35	%)
Investment sales expense		354		306		15.69	%		240		27.50	%
Trust expenses		529		452		17.04	%		376		20.21	%
FHLB restructuring		-		877		(100.00	%)		2,093		(58.10	%)
Administrative and other expenses		6,127		5,884		4.13	%		8,056		(26.96	%)
Total other noninterest expense		15,761		15,076		4.54	%		19,389		(22.24	%)
Total noninterest expense	$	136,300	$	129,261		5.45	%	$	138,165		(6.44	%)

The increase in total salaries and employee benefits expense in 2014 over 2013 and 2013 over 2012 is primarily related to annual merit increases awarded in January of each year and an increase in annual cash incentives as well as an increase in the number of employees in 2014 over 2013 and 2013 over 2012. Salaries and benefits will increase in 2015 with increased merit raises for the Company's workforce and the Company's continued recruiting effort to hire relationship bankers in our markets.

We believe that cash and equity incentives are a valuable tool in motivating an employee base that is focused on providing our clients effective financial advice and increasing shareholder value. As a result, and unlike many other financial institutions, all of our non-commissioned associates participate in our annual cash incentive plan, and all of our associates participate in our equity compensation plans. Under the annual cash incentive plan, the targeted level of incentive payments requires achievement of a certain soundness threshold and a targeted level of revenues and earnings (subject to certain adjustments). To the extent that the soundness threshold is met and revenues and earnings are above or below the targeted amount, the aggregate incentive payments are increased or decreased. Historically, we have paid actual awards between 0% and 125% of the targeted bonus award. In 2014, our cash incentives represented 123% of targeted incentive compensation compared to 125% in 2013 and 102% in 2012.

Employee benefits and other expenses include costs associated with the Pinnacle Financial Partners 401k plan, health insurance, and payroll taxes. Also, included in employee benefits and other expense for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, were approximately $5.3 million, $4.1 million and $4.4 million, respectively, of compensation expenses related to equity-based awards, primarily for restricted shares, restricted share units or performance unit awards. We have not issued stock options since 2008.

Also included in employee benefits and other expenses are costs related to salary stock units issued to our senior executives for the year ended December 31, 2012. In connection with these awards, the executive officers received salary stock units which were settled in our common stock on a one-for-one basis. The program was terminated by the Human Resources and Compensation Committee (HRCC) of our Board of Directors effective June 30, 2012 following the redemption of the remaining preferred shares issued pursuant to the CPP. Concurrently, these senior executives' were eligible to participate in our annual cash incentive plan effective July 1, 2012. For the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, no costs were incurred related to the salary stock units issued to our senior executives compared to approximately $1.0 million for 2012.

Equipment and occupancy expense for the year ended December 31, 2014 was 13.23% greater than in 2013 which were 4.18% greater than in 2012. One branch was added in the Knoxville MSA in each of the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014. Additionally, we expanded our corporate headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee in 2014. An additional branch is expected to be added in the Knoxville MSA in 2015.

Other real estate expense was $664,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to $3.1 million and $11.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Approximately $99,000, $2.8 million, and $9.5 million of the other real estate expense incurred during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, were net realized losses on dispositions and holding losses due to reduced valuations of OREO properties. The remaining other real estate expense in 2014, 2013 and 2012 consisted of carrying costs to maintain or improve the properties. During 2014, we had other real estate owned dispositions of $6.4 million compared to $8.7 million in 2013 and $30.2 million in 2012.

Other real estate expense will fluctuate depending on market conditions as we maintain and market for sale various foreclosed properties. These properties could also be subject to future valuation adjustments as a result of updated appraisal information and deterioration in real estate values, thus causing additional fluctuations in our quarterly other real estate expense. Additionally, we will continue to incur expenses associated with maintenance costs and property taxes associated with these assets.

Management's strategy has been to aggressively pursue disposition of nonperforming loans and other real estate owned in order to ultimately reduce the expense associated with carrying these nonperforming assets. Our disposition strategy generally has been to negotiate sales of foreclosed properties on a property-by-property basis, although we have also utilized both traditional and online auctions. Our use of online auctions has been primarily limited to individual residential homes and lots. During 2012, management utilized a bulk sale to dispose of approximately $9.0 million in nonperforming assets which consisted of both nonperforming loans and other real estate. No bulk sales occurred during 2013 or 2014, and the bulk sale strategy is not intended to be recurring; however, our nonperforming asset disposition strategy is reviewed on an on-going basis and could change in the future.

Noninterest expense related to the amortization of intangibles relates primarily to the intangibles acquired in the Mid-America and Cavalry mergers. The core deposit intangibles are being amortized over ten years for Mid-America and were amortized over seven years for Cavalry, in each case using an accelerated method which anticipates the life of the underlying deposits to which the intangible is attributable. Amortization expense associated with the core deposit intangibles for Mid-America will approximate $691,000 to $825,000 per year for the next three years with lesser amounts for the remaining amortization period. The core deposit intangible related to Cavalry was fully amortized during the year ended December 31, 2013. Additionally, in connection with our acquisition of an insurance brokerage firm in July of 2008, we recorded a customer list intangible of $1,270,000 which is being amortized over 20 years on an accelerated basis. Amortization of the customer list intangible amounted to $91,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014 and $97,000 and $103,000 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Total other noninterest expenses decreased by 4.54% to $15.8 million during 2014 when compared to 2013 and by 22.2% to $15.1 million during 2013 when compared to 2012. Included in other noninterest expenses are deposit and lending related expenses, investment and trust sales expenses, FHLB restructuring expense and administrative expenses. During the second quarter of 2013, a $2.0 million allowance for off-balance sheet exposures was reversed against other noninterest expense as a result of the underlying letter of credit being funded. This $2.0 million expense reversal was partially offset by an approximately $877,000 restructuring charge related to the prepayment of $35.0 million in FHLB advances in the first quarter of 2013. Restructuring charges of $2.1 million related to the prepayment of $60.0 million in FHLB advances were incurred in 2012. Administrative and other expenses increased by 4.13% to $6.1 million during 2014 when compared to 2013. Approximately $967,000 of this increase relates to increased regulatory costs as well as a $404,000 increase in state franchise tax partly offset by an approximate $1.0 million decrease in legal fees. Administrative and other expenses decreased by 27.0% to $2.2 million during 2013 when compared to 2012. Approximately $974,000 of this decrease relates to decreased regulatory costs as well as an approximately $788,000 decrease in legal fees. Also included in administrative and other expenses are expenses related to contributions, audit fees, and corporate insurance policies.

Our efficiency ratio (ratio of noninterest expense to the sum of net interest income and noninterest income) was 55.5% in fiscal year 2014 compared to 58.0% in fiscal year 2013 and 67.0% in fiscal year 2012. The efficiency ratio measures the amount of expense that is incurred to generate a dollar of revenue. Declining other real estate owned expense positively impacted the efficiency ratio during the year ended December 31, 2014.

Income Taxes. During the year ended December 31, 2014, Pinnacle Financial recorded income tax expense of $35.2 million. Our effective income tax rate was 33.3% for the year ended December 31, 2014, which is principally impacted by our investments in municipal securities, our real estate investment trust and bank-owned life insurance offset in part by non-deductible meals and entertainment.

Preferred Stock Dividends and Preferred Stock Discount Accretion. Net income available for common stockholders included preferred stock dividends of $1,660,000 in 2012, and the accretion on the preferred stock discount of $2,153,000, for the year ended December 31, 2012. On December 12, 2008, we received $95.0 million from the sale of preferred stock to the U.S. Treasury as a result of our participation in the CPP. The Series A preferred stock we sold the U.S. Treasury paid cumulative dividends quarterly at a rate of 5 percent per annum. Pinnacle Financial redeemed the preferred shares issued to the Treasury under the CPP in two payments. During 2011, Pinnacle Financial redeemed 23,750 of the preferred shares for approximately $23.9 million. As a result of the partial redemption, Pinnacle Financial recognized approximately $719,000 of accelerated accretion of the remaining preferred stock discount. During 2012, Pinnacle Financial completed the redemption of the remaining 71,250 preferred shares outstanding to the Treasury for approximately $71.6 million. Concurrently, Pinnacle Financial accelerated the accretion of the remaining preferred stock discount of approximately $1.7 million during 2012.

Additionally, Pinnacle Financial issued warrants to purchase 534,910 shares of common stock to the U.S. Treasury as a condition to its participation in the CPP. The warrants had an exercise price of $26.64 each, were immediately exercisable and expired 10 years from the date of issuance. On June 16, 2009, Pinnacle Financial completed the sale of 8,855,000 shares of its common stock in a public offering, resulting in net proceeds to Pinnacle Financial of approximately $109 million. As a result, and pursuant to the terms of the warrants, the number of shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants was reduced by 50%, or 267,455 shares. During the third quarter of 2012, Pinnacle Financial repurchased all of the remaining outstanding warrants for $755,000.

Financial Condition

Our consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2014 reflects an increase of $445.5 million in outstanding loans to $4.590 billion and $249.1 million in total deposits to $4.783 billion from December 31, 2013. Total assets were $6.018 billion at December 31, 2014 as compared to $5.564 billion at December 31, 2013.

Loans. The composition of loans at December 31 for each of the past five years and the percentage (%) of each segment to total loans are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

	2014					2013					2012					2011					2010
	Amount		Percent			Amount		Percent			Amount		Percent			Amount		Percent			Amount		Percent
Commercial real estate - Mortgage	$	1,544,091		33.6	%	$	1,383,435		33.4	%	$	1,178,196		31.7	%	$	1,110,962		33.8	%	$	1,094,615		34.1	%
Consumer real estate - Mortgage		721,158		15.7	%		695,616		16.8	%		679,926		18.3	%		695,745		21.1	%		705,487		22.0	%
Construction and land development		322,466		7.0	%		316,191		7.6	%		313,552		8.4	%		274,248		8.3	%		331,261		10.3	%
Commercial and industrial		1,784,729		38.9	%		1,605,547		38.7	%		1,446,578		39.0	%		1,145,735		34.8	%		1,012,091		31.5	%
Consumer and other		217,583		4.7	%		143,704		3.5	%		93,910		2.6	%		64,661		2.0	%		68,986		2.1	%
Total loans	$	4,590,027		100.0	%	$	4,144,493		100.0	%	$	3,712,162		100.0	%	$	3,291,351		100.0	%	$	3,212,440		100.0	%

We have experienced growth in all segments of our portfolio. Significant growth occurred in the commercial real estate – mortgage segment which includes owner-occupied commercial real estate loans. Owner-occupied commercial real estate is similar in many ways to our commercial and industrial lending in that these loans are generally made to businesses on the basis of the cash flows of the business rather than on the valuation of the real estate, however, the real estate is used as collateral. At December 31, 2014, approximately 49.5% of the outstanding principal balance of our commercial real estate mortgage loans was secured by owner-occupied properties. Additionally, commercial and industrial loans increased by 11.2% during the year as a result of businesses returning to a more normalized post recession state of operations.

Consumer real estate mortgages consist of first mortgage real estate loans, junior liens and home equity lines of credit. In total, we hold the first mortgage on $565.2 million of the mortgages within this portfolio. The remaining $155.9 million represent junior liens, or "second mortgages". We had net charge-offs of $684,000 and $635,000 related to consumer loan second mortgages during 2014 and 2013, respectively. At December 31, 2014, we had $73,000 of second mortgage consumer loans classified as nonperforming assets compared to $362,000 at December 31, 2013. In addition, approximately $17,000 and $156,000 of these second mortgages were past due at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Generally, for our second mortgage properties, should it become apparent to us that the first mortgage is habitually past due, classified as nonperforming or has other credit weaknesses, we will review our second mortgage to determine if the second mortgage should be considered for impairment. Typically, the second mortgage loan will be placed on nonperforming status or charged off if it appears the borrower's credit status has deteriorated. For borrowers where the first mortgage loan is held by another financial institution, we review credit histories of our home equity line of credit borrowers annually to determine if the borrower's credit score has decreased as a result of the borrower's inability to maintain their credit obligations in a satisfactory manner.

The following table classifies our fixed and variable rate loans at December 31, 2014 according to contractual maturities of (1) one year or less, (2) after one year through five years, and (3) after five years. The table also classifies our variable rate loans pursuant to the contractual repricing dates of the underlying loans (dollars in thousands):

	Amounts at December 31, 2014
	Fixed Rates		Variable Rates^(*)		Totals		At December 31, 2014			At December 31, 2013
Based on contractual maturity:
Due within one year	$	213,150	$	772,269	$	985,419		21.5	%		24.8	%
Due in one year to five years		1,137,628		1,033,726		2,171,354		47.3	%		42.2	%
Due after five years		589,799		843,454		1,433,253		31.2	%		32.9	%
Totals	$	1,940,577	$	2,649,449	$	4,590,026		100.0	%		100.0	%

Based on contractual repricing dates:
Daily floating rate	$	-	$	1,398,545	$	1,398,545		30.5	%		30.6	%
Due within one year		213,150		470,413		683,563		14.9	%		16.8	%
Due in one year to five years		1,137,628		491,735		1,629,363		35.5	%		32.3	%
Due after five years		589,799		288,756		878,555		19.1	%		20.3	%
Totals	$	1,940,577	$	2,649,449	$	4,590,026		100.0	%		100.0	%

(*)Daily floating rate loans are tied to Pinnacle Bank's prime lending rate or a national interest rate index with the underlying loan rates changing in relation to changes in these indexes. Included in variable rate loans are $1.1 billion of loans which at December 31, 2014 were priced at their contractual floors with a weighted average rate of 4.27%. The weighted average contractual rate on these loans is 3.54%. As a result, interest income on these loans will not change until the contractual rate on the underlying loan exceeds the interest rate floor.

The above information does not consider the impact of scheduled principal payments.

Loan Origination Risk Management. We attempt to maintain lending policies and procedures in place that are designed to maximize loan income within an acceptable level of risk. Management reviews and approves these policies and procedures on a regular basis. A reporting system supplements the review process by providing management with frequent reports related to loan production, loan quality, concentrations of credit, loan delinquencies and non-performing loans. Diversification in the loan portfolio is a means of managing risk associated with fluctuations in economic conditions.

Underwriting standards are designed to promote relationship banking rather than transactional banking. Our management examines current and projected cash flows to determine the expected ability of a borrower to repay its obligations as agreed. Commercial and industrial loans are primarily made based on the identified cash flows of the borrower and secondarily on the underlying collateral provided by the borrower. The cash flows of borrowers, however, may not be as expected, and the collateral securing these loans may fluctuate in value. Most commercial and industrial loans are secured by the assets being financed or other business assets such as accounts receivable, inventory or equipment and may incorporate a personal guarantee of business principals; however, some short-term loans may be made on an unsecured basis. In the case of loans secured by accounts receivable, the availability of funds for the repayment of these loans may be substantially dependent on the ability of the borrower to collect amounts due from its customers.

Commercial real estate loans are subject to underwriting standards and processes similar to commercial and industrial loans. These loans are viewed primarily as cash flow loans and secondarily as loans secured by real estate. Commercial real estate lending typically involves higher loan principal amounts, and the repayment of these loans is generally largely dependent on the successful operation of the property securing the loan or the business conducted on the property securing the loan. Commercial real estate loans may be adversely affected by conditions in the real estate markets or in the general economy. As detailed in the discussion of real estate loans below, the properties securing our commercial real estate portfolio generally are diverse in terms of type and industry. We believe this diversity helps reduce our exposure to adverse economic events that affect any single industry or type of real estate product. Management monitors and evaluates commercial real estate loans based on cash flow, collateral, geography and risk grade criteria. We also utilize third-party experts to provide insight and guidance about economic conditions and trends affecting market areas we serve.

Given the positive economic outlook for the Nashville MSA and the Knoxville MSAs, we continue to make limited levels of loans for sound commercial construction and development projects. Construction loans are underwritten utilizing feasibility studies, independent appraisal reviews, sensitivity analysis of absorption and lease rates and financial analysis of the developers and property owners. Construction loans are generally based upon estimates of costs and value associated with the completed project, which may be inaccurate. Construction loans involve the disbursement of funds during construction with repayment substantially dependent on the success of the ultimate project. Sources of repayment for these types of loans may be pre-committed permanent loans from approved long-term lenders, sales of developed property or an interim loan commitment from us until permanent financing is obtained. These loans are closely monitored by on-site inspections and are considered to have higher risks than other real estate loans because their ultimate repayment is sensitive to interest rate changes, governmental regulation of real property, general economic conditions and the availability of long-term financing.

We also originate consumer loans, including consumer real-estate loans, where we typically use a computer-based credit scoring analysis to supplement the underwriting process. To monitor and manage consumer loan risk, policies and procedures are developed and modified, as needed, jointly by line and staff personnel. This activity, coupled with relatively small loan amounts that are spread across many individual borrowers, seeks to minimize risk. Additionally, trend and outlook reports are reviewed by management on a regular basis. Underwriting standards for home equity loans are heavily influenced by statutory requirements.

We also maintain an independent loan review department that reviews and validates the credit risk program on a periodic basis. Results of these reviews are presented to management and the audit committee. The loan review process complements and reinforces the risk identification and assessment decisions made by lenders and credit personnel, as well as our policies and procedures.

Lending Concentrations. We periodically analyze our commercial loan portfolio to determine if a concentration of credit risk exists to any one or more industries. We use broadly accepted industry classification systems in order to classify borrowers into various industry classifications. We have a credit exposure (loans outstanding plus unfunded commitments) exceeding 25% of Pinnacle Bank's total risk-based capital to borrowers in the following industries at December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	December 31, 2014
	Outstanding Principal Balances			Unfunded Commitments			Total Exposure			Percent of Total Risk-Based Capital			Total Exposure at December 31, 2013

Lessors of nonresidential buildings		$	515,145		$	57,475		$	572,620		78.3	%		$	515,240
Lessors of residential buildings			292,721			42,678			335,399		44.5	%			270,773

Performing Loans in Past Due Status. The following table is a summary of our accruing loans that were past due between 30 and 90 days and greater than 90 days as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 (dollars in thousands):

	December 31,
Accruing loans past due 30 to 90 days:	2014		2013
Commercial real estate – mortgage	$	2,232	$	2,561
Consumer real estate – mortgage		2,391		2,215
Construction and land development		4