Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (the “Company” or “Bankwell”) is a bank holding company headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut. The Company offers a broad range of financial services through its banking subsidiary, Bankwell Bank, (the “Bank”). The Bank was originally chartered as two separate banks, The Bank of New Canaan (“BNC”) and The Bank of Fairfield (“TBF”). In September 2013, BNC and TBF were merged and rebranded as “Bankwell Bank.” In November 2013, the Bank acquired The Wilton Bank (“Wilton”), which added one branch and approximately $25.1 million in loans and $64.2 million in deposits. See Note 12, Mergers and Acquisitions, for further information on the acquisition.

The Bank is a Connecticut state chartered commercial bank, founded in 2002, whose deposits are insured under the Deposit Insurance Fund administered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). The Bank provides a full range of banking services to commercial and consumer customers, primarily concentrated in the Fairfield County region of Connecticut, with branch locations in New Canaan, Stamford, Fairfield and Wilton Connecticut. The Company has received approval from its regulators to establish a branch location in Norwalk, Connecticut, which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2015. In addition, The Company acquired Quinnipiac Bank and Trust Company on October 1, 2014. The acquisition expanded the Company’s branch locations to New Haven County, Connecticut, adding a branch in Hamden Connecticut and North Haven, Connecticut. See note 13, Subsequent Events for further information about the merger with Quinnipiac Bank and Trust Company.

The accounting and reporting policies of the Company conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and general practices within the banking industry. In preparing the interim consolidated financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet and revenue and expenses for the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to deferred taxes, the fair values of financial instruments and the determination of the allowance for loan losses.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements presented herein have been prepared pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Rule 10-1 of Regulation S-X and do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by GAAP. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) and disclosures considered necessary for the fair presentation of the accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been included. Interim results are not necessarily reflective of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2014. The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 for the year ended December 31, 2013.

Most of the Company’s activities are with customers located within Fairfield County and the surrounding region of Connecticut, and declines in property values in these areas could significantly impact the Company. The Company has significant concentrations in commercial real estate loans. Management does not believe they present any special risk. The Company does not have any significant concentrations in any one industry or customer.

The Company enters into interest rate swap agreements as part of the Company’s interest rate risk management strategy. Management applies the hedge accounting provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815, and formally documents at inception all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management objectives and strategies for undertaking the various hedges. Additionally, the Company uses dollar offset or regression analysis at the hedge’s inception and for each reporting period thereafter, to assess whether the derivative used in its hedging transaction is expected to be and has been highly effective in offsetting changes in the fair value or cash flows of the hedged item. The Company discontinues hedge accounting when it is determined that a derivative is not expected to be or has ceased to be highly effective as a hedge, and then reflects changes in fair value of the derivative in earnings after termination of the hedge relationship.

The Company has characterized all of its interest rate swaps that qualify under Topic 815 hedge accounting as cash flow hedges. Cash flow hedges are used to minimize the variability in cash flows of assets or liabilities, or forecasted transactions caused by interest rate fluctuations, and are recorded at fair value in other assets within the consolidated balance sheet. Changes in the fair value of these cash flow hedges are initially recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income and subsequently reclassified into earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings. Any hedge ineffectiveness assessed as part of the Company’s quarterly analysis is recorded directly to earnings.

As a result of applying this ASU, an unrecognized tax benefit should be presented as a reduction of a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss (“NOL”) or other tax credit carryforward when settlement in this manner is available under the tax law. The assessment of whether settlement is available under the tax law would be based on facts and circumstances as of the balance sheet reporting date and would not consider future events (e.g., upcoming expiration of related NOL carryforwards). This classification should not affect an entity’s analysis of the realization of its deferred tax assets. Gross presentation in the roll forward of unrecognized tax positions in the notes to the financial statements will still be required. For the Company, the update was effective prospectively for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is permitted. Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The amendments in this update apply to all creditors who obtain physical possession (resulting from an in substance repossession or foreclosure) of residential real estate property collateralizing a consumer mortgage loan in satisfaction of a receivable. The objective of the amendments in this update is to reduce diversity by clarifying when an in substance repossession or foreclosure occurs, that is, when a creditor should be considered to have received physical possession of residential real estate property collateralizing a consumer mortgage loan such that the loan receivable should be derecognized and the real estate property recognized. Additionally, the amendments require interim and annual disclosure of both (1) the amount of foreclosed residential real estate property held by the creditor and (2) the recorded investment in consumer mortgage loans collateralized by residential real estate property that are in the process of foreclosure according to requirements of the applicable jurisdiction. The amendments in this update are effective for the Company for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2015, and interim periods within those annual periods. Adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

This update requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. Early application is not permitted. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its ongoing financial reporting.

ASU No. 2014-12 - Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718) - Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force.

The amendments in this update require that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. As such, the performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant-date fair value of the award. Compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period(s) for which the requisite service has already been rendered. If the performance target becomes probable of being achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost should be recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period. The amendments in this update are effective for the Company for annual periods and interim periods beginning on or after January 1, 2016. Earlier adoption is permitted. Adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The objective of this update is to reduce the diversity in classification of government-guaranteed mortgage loans, including FHA or VA guaranteed loans, upon foreclosure. The amendments in this update are effective for the Company for annual periods and interim periods beginning on or after January 1, 2016. Earlier adoption is permitted. Adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.