UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
or
Commission file number: 001-31567
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
(808 ) 544-0500
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ý No o
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 o No ý
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 ý No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ý No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| x | Accelerated Filer | o | |||||||||
| Non-Accelerated Filer | o | Smaller Reporting Company | |||||||||
| Emerging Growth Company | |||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act . o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).Yes ☐ No ý
As of June 30, 2021, the aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $717,451,000 . As of January 31, 2022, the number of shares of common stock of the registrant outstanding was 27,675,971 shares.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
CENTRAL PACIFIC FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Form 10-K
Table of Contents
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| Part I. | ||||||||
| Part II. | ||||||||
| Part III. | ||||||||
| Part IV. | ||||||||
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PART I
Forward-Looking Statements and Factors that Could Affect Future Results
Certain statements contained in this annual report on Form 10-K that are not statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"), notwithstanding that such statements are not specifically identified. In addition, certain statements may be contained in our future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in press releases and in oral and written statements made by us or with our approval that are not statements of historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act. Examples of forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: (i) projections of revenues, expenses, income or loss, earnings or loss per share, the payment or nonpayment of dividends, capital position, net interest margin or other financial items; (ii) statements of plans, objectives and expectations of Central Pacific Financial Corp. or its management or Board of Directors, including those relating to business plans, use of capital resources, products or services and regulatory developments and regulatory actions; (iii) statements of future economic performance including anticipated performance results in light of the novel coronavirus disease ("COVID-19") pandemic and from our RISE2020 and Banking-as-a-Service ("BaaS") initiatives; and (iv) statements of assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "forecasts," "hopes," "targeting," "continue," "remain," "will," "should," "estimates," "may" and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.
While we believe that our forward-looking statements and the assumptions underlying them are reasonably based, such statements and assumptions are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties, and thus could later prove to be inaccurate or incorrect. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from those in such statements or projections. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include but are not limited to:
•the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic virus (and ongoing pandemic variants) on local, national and international economies, including, but not limited to, the adverse impact on tourism and construction in the State of Hawaii, our borrowers, customers, third-party contractors, vendors and employees as well as the effects of government programs and initiatives in response to COVID-19;
•the impact of our participation in the Small Business Administration ("SBA") Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") and fulfillment of government guarantees on our PPP loans;
•increase in inventory or adverse conditions in the real estate market and deterioration in the construction industry;
•adverse changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers and, as a result, increased loan delinquency rates, deterioration in asset quality and losses in our loan portfolio;
•our ability to successfully implement and achieve the objectives of our RISE2020 initiative;
•our ability to successfully implement and achieve the objectives of our BaaS initiatives;
•the impact of local, national, and international economies and events (including natural disasters such as wildfires, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis, storms, earthquakes and pandemic virus and disease, including COVID-19) on the Company’s business and operations and on tourism, the military and other major industries operating within the Hawaii market and any other markets in which the Company does business;
•deterioration or malaise in domestic economic conditions, including any destabilization in the financial industry and deterioration of the real estate market, as well as the impact of declining levels of consumer and business confidence in the state of the economy in general and in financial institutions in particular;
•changes in estimates of future reserve requirements based upon the periodic review thereof under relevant regulatory and accounting requirements;
•the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), changes in capital standards, other regulatory reform and federal and state legislation, including but not limited to regulations promulgated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB"), government-sponsored enterprise reform, and any related rules and regulations which affect our business operations and competitiveness;
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•the costs and effects of legal and regulatory developments, including legal proceedings or regulatory or other governmental inquiries and proceedings and the resolution thereof, the results of regulatory examinations or reviews and the effect of, and our ability to comply with, any regulatory orders or actions we are or may become subject to;
•ability to successfully implement our initiatives to lower our efficiency ratio;
•the effects of and changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "FRB" or the "Federal Reserve");
•inflation, interest rate, securities market and monetary fluctuations, including the transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") Index and the impact on our loans and debt which are tied to that index and uncertainties regarding potential alternative reference rates, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR");
•negative trends in our market capitalization and adverse changes in the price of the Company’s common stock;
•political instability;
•acts of war or terrorism;
•pandemic virus and disease, including COVID-19;
•changes in consumer spending, borrowings and savings habits;
•failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures;
•cybersecurity and data privacy breaches and the consequences therefrom;
•the ability to address deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures;
•technological changes and developments;
•changes in the competitive environment among financial holding companies and other financial service providers;
•the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") and other accounting standard setters and the cost and resources required to implement such changes;
•our ability to attract and retain key personnel;
•changes in our organization, compensation and benefit plans; and
•our success at managing any of the risks involved in the foregoing items.
For further information with respect to factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from the expectations or projections stated in the forward-looking statements, please see also "Risk Factors" under Part I, Item 1A of this report. We urge investors to consider all of these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
Central Pacific Financial Corp., a Hawaii corporation and bank holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the "BHC Act"), was organized on February 1, 1982. Our principal business is to serve as a holding company for our bank subsidiary, Central Pacific Bank, which was incorporated in its present form in the state of Hawaii on
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March 16, 1982 in connection with the holding company reorganization. Its predecessor entity was incorporated in the state of Hawaii on January 15, 1954. We provide financial results based on a fiscal year ending December 31 as a single reportable segment. As of December 31, 2021, we had total assets of $7.42 billion, total loans of $5.10 billion, total deposits of $6.64 billion and shareholders' equity of $558.2 million.
When we refer to "the Company," "we," "us" or "our," we mean Central Pacific Financial Corp. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. When we refer to "Central Pacific Financial Corp.," "CPF" or to the holding company, we are referring to the parent company on a standalone basis. We refer to Central Pacific Bank herein as "our bank" or "the bank."
Through our bank and its subsidiaries, we offer full-service commercial banking with 30 bank branches and 69 ATMs located throughout the state of Hawaii. Our administrative and main offices are located in Honolulu and we have 22 branches on the island of Oahu. We operate four branches on the island of Maui, two branches on the island of Hawaii and two branches on the island of Kauai. At the end of 2021, the Company consolidated a traditional branch on Oahu with other existing nearby branches. With the continued successful customer migration to digital banking services, we plan to consolidate three additional branches in 2022. At the same time, we are continuing to invest in select strategic branch locations, including acquiring real estate and developing fully modernized branches utilizing the concepts we created in our RISE2020 headquarter building revitalization.
Central Pacific Bank is a full-service commercial bank offering a broad range of banking products and services, including accepting time and demand deposits and originating loans. Our bank's deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") up to applicable limits. The bank is not a member of the Federal Reserve System. Our loans include commercial loans, construction loans, commercial and residential mortgage loans and consumer loans.
We derive our income primarily from interest and fees on loans, interest on investment securities and fees received in connection with deposit and other services. Our major operating expenses are the interest paid by our bank on deposits and borrowings, salaries and employee benefits and general operating expenses. Our bank relies substantially on a foundation of locally generated deposits.
Our operations, like those of other financial institutions that operate in our market, are significantly influenced by economic conditions in Hawaii, including the strength of the real estate market and the tourism industry, as well as the fiscal and regulatory policies of the federal and state government and the regulatory authorities that govern financial institutions. See the "Supervision and Regulation" section below for other information about the regulation of our holding company and bank.
Our Services
We offer a full range of banking services and products to businesses, professionals and individuals. We provide our customers with an array of loan products, including residential mortgage loans, commercial and consumer loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate loans and construction loans.
Through our bank, we concentrate our lending activities in five principal areas:
(1)Residential Mortgage Lending. Residential mortgage loans include fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans primarily secured by single-family, owner-occupied residences in Hawaii and home equity lines of credit and loans. We typically require loan-to-value ratios of not more than 80%, although higher levels are permitted with accompanying mortgage insurance. First mortgage loans secured by residential properties have an average loan size of approximately $0.5 million and marketable collateral. Changes in interest rates, the economic environment and other market factors have impacted, and future changes will likely continue to impact, the marketability and value of collateral and the financial condition of our borrowers and thus the level of credit risk inherent in the portfolio. A portion of our first residential mortgage loan originations are sold in the secondary market and a portion is put into our loan portfolio.
(2)Commercial, Financial and Agricultural Lending. Loans in this category consist primarily of term loans and lines of credit to small and middle-market businesses and professionals in the state of Hawaii. The borrower's business is typically regarded as the principal source of repayment, although our underwriting policies and practices generally require additional sources of collateral, including real estate and other business assets, as well as personal guarantees where possible to mitigate risk and help to reduce credit losses.
(3)Commercial Mortgage Lending. Loans in this category consist of loans secured by commercial real estate, including but not limited to, structures and facilities to support activities designated as multi-family residential properties, industrial, warehouse, general office, retail, health care and religious dwellings. Our underwriting policies and
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practices generally requires net cash flow from the property to cover the debt service while maintaining an appropriate amount of reserves and permits consideration of liquidation of the collateral as a secondary source of repayment.
(4)Construction Lending. Construction land development and other land loans encompasses the financing of residential and commercial construction projects.
(5)Consumer Lending. Loans in this category are generally either unsecured or secured by personal assets, such as automobiles, and the average loan size is generally small.
Beyond the lending function described above, we also offer a full range of deposit products and services including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking services, trust services and retail brokerage services.
Our Market Area and Competition
Based on deposit market share among FDIC-insured financial institutions in Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank was the fourth-largest depository institution in the state as of December 31, 2021.
The banking and financial services industry in the state of Hawaii generally, and particularly in our target market areas, is highly competitive. We compete for loans, deposits and customers with other commercial banks, savings banks, securities and brokerage companies, financial technology ("fintech") companies, mortgage companies, insurance companies, finance companies, credit unions and other non-bank financial service providers, including mortgage providers and brokers, operating via the internet and other technology platforms. Some of these competitors are much larger by total assets and capitalization, and have greater access to capital markets.
In order to compete with the other financial services providers in the state of Hawaii, we principally rely upon personal relationships between customers and our officers, directors and employees, and specialized services tailored to meet the needs of our customers and the communities we serve. We believe we remain competitive by offering flexibility and superior service levels to our customers, coupled with competitive interest rate pricing, strong digital technology and local promotional activities.
For further discussion of factors affecting our operations see, "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."
Business Concentrations
No individual or single group of related accounts is considered material in relation to the assets or deposits of our bank, or in relation to the overall business of the Company. However, approximately 76% of our loan portfolio at December 31, 2021 consisted of real estate-related loans, including residential mortgage loans, home equity loans, commercial mortgage loans and construction loans. See "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition—Loan Portfolio."
Our business activities are focused primarily in Hawaii. Consequently, our results of operations and financial condition are impacted by the general economic trends in Hawaii, particularly in the commercial and residential real estate markets. During periods of economic strength, the real estate market and the real estate industry typically perform well; during periods of economic weakness, they typically are adversely affected.
Our Subsidiaries
Central Pacific Bank is the wholly-owned principal subsidiary of Central Pacific Financial Corp. As of December 31, 2021, other wholly-owned subsidiaries include CPB Capital Trust IV and CPB Statutory Trust V. CPB Capital Trust II and CPB Statutory Trust III were terminated in January 2019.
In January 2020, the bank acquired a 50% ownership interest in a mortgage loan origination and brokerage company, Oahu HomeLoans, LLC. The bank concluded that the investment meets the consolidation requirements under Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 810, "Consolidation." The bank also concluded that the entity meets the definition of a variable interest entity and that we are the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity. Accordingly, the investment has been consolidated into our financial statements.
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Central Pacific Bank also owns 50% of Gentry HomeLoans, LLC, Haseko HomeLoans, LLC and Island Pacific HomeLoans, LLC, which are accounted for under the cost method and are included in unconsolidated entities.
The Company sponsors the Central Pacific Foundation, which is not consolidated in the Company's financial statements.
Supervision and Regulation
General
The Company and the bank are subject to significant regulation and restrictions by federal and state laws and regulatory agencies for the protection of depositors and the FDIC deposit insurance fund, borrowers, and the stability of the United States of America ("U.S.") banking system. The following discussion of statutes and regulations is a summary and does not purport to be complete nor does it address all applicable statutes and regulations. This discussion is also qualified in its entirety by reference to the statutes and regulations referred to in this discussion. We cannot predict whether or when new legislative initiatives may be proposed or enacted or new regulations or guidance may be promulgated nor the effect new laws, regulations and supervisory policies and practices may have on community banks generally or on our financial condition and results of operations. Such developments could increase or decrease the cost of doing business, limit or expand permissible activities or affect the competitive balance among banks, savings associations, credit unions and other financial institutions. We also cannot predict whether or when regulatory requirements may be reduced or eliminated and the overall affect such reduction or elimination may have on the Company and the bank.
Regulatory Agencies
Central Pacific Financial Corp. is a legal entity separate and distinct from its subsidiaries. As the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank, Central Pacific Financial Corp. is regulated under the BHC Act and is subject to inspection, examination and supervision by the FRB. It is also subject to Hawaii's Code of Financial Institutions and is subject to inspection, examination and supervision by the Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions ("DFI".)
The Company is subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), as administered by the SEC. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the trading symbol "CPF," and we are subject to the rules of the NYSE for companies listed there. In addition to the powers of the bank regulatory agencies we are subject to, the SEC and the NYSE have the ability to take enforcement actions against us.
In addition, the Company is also subject to the accounting oversight and corporate governance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including, among other things, required executive certification of financial presentations, requirements for board audit committees and their members, and disclosure of controls and procedures and establishment and testing on internal control over financial reporting.
Central Pacific Bank, as a Hawaii state-chartered bank, is subject to primary supervision, periodic examination and regulation by the DFI and FDIC and is also subject to certain regulations promulgated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), and FRB. In periodic examinations, the DFI, FDIC, and FRB assesses our financial condition, capital resources, asset quality, management, earnings prospects, liquidity, market sensitivity and other aspects of our operations. These bodies also determine whether our management is effectively managing the bank and the holding company and whether we are in compliance with all applicable laws or regulations.
Legislative and Regulatory Developments
The federal banking agencies continue to implement the remaining requirements in the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as promulgating other regulations and guidelines intended to assure the financial strength and safety and soundness of banks and the stability of the U.S. banking system. Following on the implementation of the new capital rules under Basel III ("Basel III Capital Rule") and the so-called Volcker Rule which restricts certain proprietary trading and investment activities, on February 3, 2017, Former President Trump issued an executive order identifying certain “core principles” for the administration’s financial services regulatory policy and directing the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the heads of other financial regulatory agencies, to evaluate how the current regulatory framework promotes or inhibits the principles and what actions have been, and are being, taken to promote the principles.
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The scope and breadth of regulatory changes that will occur as a result of the election of President Biden have yet to be fully determined, though we believe there will an increased focus on regulatory compliance, supervision and examination during President Biden’s term.
Capital Adequacy Requirements
Bank holding companies and banks are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by state and federal banking agencies. The Basel III Capital Rule, which initially became effective on January 1, 2015, has now been fully phased in. The risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies and banks require capital ratios that vary based on the perceived degree of risk associated with a banking organization's operations for both transactions reported on the balance sheet as assets, such as loans, and those recorded as off-balance sheet items, such as commitments, letters of credit and recourse arrangements. The risk-based capital ratio is determined by classifying assets and certain off-balance sheet financial instruments into weighted categories, with higher levels of capital being required for those categories perceived as representing greater risks and dividing its qualifying capital by its total risk-adjusted assets and off-balance sheet items. Bank holding companies and banks engaged in significant trading activity may also be subject to the market risk capital guidelines and be required to incorporate additional market and interest rate risk components into their risk-based capital standards.
The Federal Reserve monitors our capital adequacy on a consolidated basis, and the FDIC and the DFI monitor the capital adequacy of our bank. The Company and the bank are required to maintain minimum risk-based and leverage capital ratios, as well as a Capital Conservation Buffer, pursuant to the Basel III Capital Rule.
These rules implement the Basel III international regulatory capital standards in the United States, as well as certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. These quantitative calculations are minimums, and the Federal Reserve, FDIC or DFI may determine that a banking organization, based on its size, complexity or risk profile, must maintain a higher level of capital in order to operate in a safe and sound manner.
Under the Basel III Capital Rule, the Company's and the bank's assets, exposures and certain off-balance sheet items are subject to risk weights used to determine the institutions' risk-weighted assets. These risk-weighted assets are used to calculate the following minimum capital ratios for the Company and the bank:
•Tier 1 Leverage Ratio, equal to the ratio of Tier 1 capital to quarterly average assets (net of goodwill, certain other intangible assets and certain other deductions).
•Common Equity Tier 1 ("CET1") Risk-Based Capital Ratio, equal to the ratio of CET1 capital to risk-weighted assets. CET1 capital primarily includes common stockholders' equity subject to certain regulatory adjustments and deductions, including with respect to goodwill, intangible assets and certain deferred tax assets. Certain of these adjustments and deductions were subject to phase-in periods that began on January 1, 2015 and ended on January 1, 2018. The last phase of the Basel III Capital Rule's transition provisions relating to capital deductions for mortgage servicing assets, certain deferred tax assets and investments in the capital instruments of unconsolidated financial institutions, and the recognition of minority interests in regulatory capital was delayed for certain bank holding companies and banks, including us and the bank, but a revised rule was finalized in July 2019 that was effective in April 2020. Hybrid securities, such as trust preferred securities, generally are excluded from being counted as Tier 1 capital. However, for bank holding companies like us that have less than $15 billion in total consolidated assets, certain trust preferred securities were grandfathered in as a component of Tier 1 capital. In addition, because we are a not an advanced approach banking organization, we were permitted to make a one-time permanent election to exclude accumulated other comprehensive income items from regulatory capital. We made this election in order to avoid significant variations in our levels of capital depending upon the impact of interest rate fluctuations on the fair value of our bank’s available-for-sale securities portfolio.
•Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital Ratio, equal to the ratio of Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets. Tier 1 capital is primarily comprised of CET1 capital, perpetual preferred stock and certain qualifying capital instruments.
•Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio, equal to the ratio of total capital, including CET1 capital, Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital, to risk-weighted assets. Tier 2 capital primarily includes qualifying subordinated debt and qualifying allowance for credit losses. Tier 2 capital also includes, among other things, certain trust preferred securities.
The total minimum regulatory capital ratios and well-capitalized minimum ratios are reflected in the charts below. The Federal Reserve has not yet revised the well-capitalized standard for bank holding companies to reflect the higher capital requirements imposed under the Basel III Capital Rule. For purposes of the Federal Reserve's Regulation Y, including determining whether a
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bank holding company meets the requirements to be a financial holding company, bank holding companies, such as the Company, must maintain a Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital Ratio of 6.0% or greater and a Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio of 10.0% or greater. If the Federal Reserve were to apply the same or a very similar well-capitalized standard to bank holding companies as that applicable to the bank, the Company's capital ratios as of December 31, 2021 would exceed such revised well-capitalized standard. The Federal Reserve may require bank holding companies, including the Company, to maintain capital ratios substantially in excess of mandated minimum levels, depending upon general economic conditions and a bank holding company's particular condition, risk profile and growth plans.
Failure to be well-capitalized or to meet minimum capital requirements could result in certain mandatory and possible additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have an adverse material effect on our operations or financial condition. Failure to be well-capitalized or to meet minimum capital requirements could also result in restrictions on the Company's or the bank's ability to pay dividends or otherwise distribute capital or to receive regulatory approval of applications.
In addition to meeting the minimum capital requirements, under the Basel III Capital Rule, the Company and the bank must also maintain the required Capital Conservation Buffer to avoid becoming subject to restrictions on capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to management. The Capital Conservation Buffer is calculated as a ratio of CET1 capital to risk-weighted assets, and it effectively increases the required minimum risk-based capital ratios. The Capital Conservation Buffer requirement was phased in over a three-year period that began on January 1, 2016. The phase-in period ended on January 1, 2019, and the Capital Conservation Buffer is now at its fully phased-in level of 2.5%.
The Tier 1 Leverage Ratio is not impacted by the Capital Conservation Buffer, and a banking institution may be considered well-capitalized while remaining out of compliance with the Capital Conservation Buffer.
The table below summarizes the capital requirements that the Company and the bank must satisfy to avoid limitations on capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments (i.e., the required minimum capital ratios plus the Capital Conservation Buffer):
| Minimum Basel III Regulatory Capital Ratio Plus Capital Conservation Buffer | ||||||||
| CET1 risk-based capital ratio | 7.0 | % | ||||||
| Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio | 8.5 | % | ||||||
| Total risk-based capital ratio | 10.5 | % | ||||||
As of December 31, 2021, the Company and the bank are well-capitalized for regulatory purposes. For a tabular presentation of the Company’s and the bank’s capital ratios as of December 31, 2021, see Note 26 - Parent Company and Regulatory Restrictions to the Consolidated Financial Statements under "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
If the Company were to cross the $10 billion or more asset threshold, its compliance costs and regulatory requirements, would increase.
In December 2017, the Basel Committee published standards that it described as the finalization of the Basel III post-crisis regulatory reforms (the standards are commonly referred to as “Basel IV”). Among other things, these standards revise the Basel Committee's standardized approach for credit risk (including by recalibrating risk weights and introducing new capital requirements for certain “unconditionally cancellable commitments,” such as unused credit card lines of credit) and provides a new standardized approach for operational risk capital. Under the Basel framework, as amended, these standards will generally be effective on January 1, 2023, with an aggregate output floor phasing in through January 1, 2028. Under the current U.S. capital rules, operational risk capital requirements and a capital floor apply only to advanced approaches institutions, and not to the Company and the bank. The impact of Basel IV on us will depend on the manner in which it is implemented by the federal bank regulators.
Prompt Corrective Action Provisions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires the federal bank regulatory agencies to take "prompt corrective action" with respect to a depository institution if that institution does not meet certain capital adequacy standards, including requiring the prompt submission of an acceptable capital restoration plan. Depending on the bank's capital ratios, the agencies' regulations define five categories in which an insured depository institution will be placed: well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, under-capitalized, significantly under-capitalized, and critically under-capitalized. At each successive lower capital category, an insured bank is
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subject to more restrictions, including restrictions on the bank's activities, operational practices or the ability to pay dividends or executive bonuses. Based upon its capital levels, a bank that is classified as well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, or under-capitalized may be treated as though it were in the next lower capital category if the appropriate federal banking agency, after notice and opportunity for hearing, determines that an unsafe or unsound condition, or an unsafe or unsound practice, warrants such treatment.
The prompt corrective action standards were also changed as the Basel III Capital Rule ratios became effective. Under the new standards, in order to be considered well-capitalized, the bank will be required to meet the new common equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.5%, an increased Tier 1 ratio of 8% (increased from 6%), a total capital ratio of 10% (unchanged) and a leverage ratio of 5% (unchanged).
The federal banking agencies also may require banks and bank holding companies subject to enforcement actions to maintain capital ratios in excess of the minimum ratios otherwise required to be deemed well capitalized, in which case institutions may no longer be deemed to be well capitalized and may therefore be subject to certain restrictions on items such as brokered deposits.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") was signed into law on March 27, 2020 to provide national emergency economic relief measures. Many of the CARES Act’s programs are dependent upon the direct involvement of U.S. financial institutions, such as the Company and the bank, and have been implemented through rules and guidance adopted by federal departments and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve and other federal banking agencies, including those with direct supervisory jurisdiction over the Company and the bank. Furthermore, as the on-going COVID-19 pandemic evolves, federal regulatory authorities continue to issue additional guidance with respect to the implementation, lifecycle, and eligibility requirements for the various CARES Act programs as well as industry-specific recovery procedures for COVID-19.
On December 21, 2020, Congress passed a $900 billion aid package, or the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which extended certain relief provisions under the March 2020 CARES Act, provided additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") and extended the time of the PPP to March 31, 2021. This legislation also permitted second PPP loans to certain entities which are subject to forgiveness subject to meeting certain required criteria. It is possible that Congress will enact supplementary COVID-19 response legislation, including amendments to the CARES Act or new bills comparable in scope to the CARES Act. The Company continues to assess the impact of the CARES Act and other statues, regulations and supervisory guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paycheck Protection Program. The CARES Act amended the SBA’s loan program, in which the bank participates, to create a guaranteed, unsecured loan program, the PPP, to fund operational costs of eligible businesses, organizations and self-employed persons during COVID-19. In June 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act was enacted, which among other things, gave borrowers additional time and flexibility to use PPP loan proceeds. The bank issued approximately $879.8 million in aggregate loans under the PPP in the two years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, of which approximately $784.9 million had been forgiven or repaid by December 31, 2021.
Troubled Debt Restructuring and Loan Modifications for Affected Borrowers. The CARES Act permits banks to suspend requirements under GAAP for loan modifications to borrowers affected by COVID-19 that would otherwise be characterized as TDRs and suspend any determination related thereto if (i) the loan modification is made between March 1, 2020 and the earlier of December 31, 2020 or 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration and (ii) the applicable loan was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019. The federal banking agencies also issued guidance to encourage banks to make loan modifications for borrowers affected by COVID-19 and to assure banks that they will not be criticized by examiners for doing so. Set to expire on December 31, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 extended this relief to the earlier of 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration or January 1, 2022. The Company is applying the guidance to qualifying loan modifications. See Note 4 - Loans to the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” which is included in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information about the COVID-19-related loan modifications completed by the Company.
Federal Reserve Programs and Other Recent Initiatives Related to COVID-19
Main Street Lending Program. The CARES Act encouraged the Federal Reserve, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to establish or implement various programs to help midsize businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities. On April 9, 2020, the Federal Reserve proposed the creation of the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”) to implement certain of these
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recommendations. On June 15, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston opened the MSLP for lender registration. The MSLP supports lending to small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The MSLP operates through five facilities: the Main Street New Loan Facility, the Main Street Priority Loan Facility, the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility, the Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility, and the Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility. The bank was a registered lender but did not originate any of these loans. The MSLP terminated on January 18, 2021. The bank continues to monitor developments related thereto.
Temporary Regulatory Capital Relief related to Impact of Current Expected Credit Losses ("CECL"). Concurrent with enactment of the CARES Act, federal banking agencies issued an interim final rule that delays the estimated impact on regulatory capital resulting from the adoption of CECL. The interim final rule provides banking organizations that implement CECL before the end of 2020 the option to delay for two years the estimated impact of CECL on regulatory capital relative to regulatory capital determined under the prior incurred loss methodology, followed by a three-year transition period to phase out the aggregate amount of capital benefit provided during the initial two-year delay. The federal banking agencies have since issued a final rule that makes certain technical changes to the interim final rule. The changes in the final rule apply only to those banking organizations that elect the CECL transition relief provided under the rule. The Company elected this option.
Volcker Rule
In December 2013, the federal bank regulatory agencies adopted final rules that implement a part of the Dodd-Frank Act commonly referred to as the "Volcker Rule." Under these rules and subject to certain exceptions, banking entities are restricted from engaging in activities that are considered proprietary trading and from sponsoring or investing in certain entities, including hedge or private equity funds that are considered "covered funds." Notwithstanding these provisions, in July 2019, the federal bank regulatory agencies finalized a rule which provides that community banks with $10 billion or less in total consolidated assets and total trading assets and liabilities of 5 percent or less of total consolidated assets, such as the bank, are excluded from the Volcker Rule.
Brokered Deposits
The FDIC limits the ability to accept brokered deposits to those insured depository institutions that are well-capitalized. Institutions that are less than well capitalized cannot accept, renew or roll over any brokered deposit unless they have applied for and been granted a waiver by the FDIC. The FDIC has defined the “national rate” for all interest-bearing deposits held by less-than-well-capitalized institutions as “a simple average of rates paid by all insured depository institutions and branches for which data are available” and has stated that its presumption is that this national rate is the prevailing rate in any market. As such, institutions that are less than well capitalized that are permitted to accept, renew or rollover brokered deposits via FDIC waiver generally may not pay an interest rate in excess of the national rate plus 75 basis points on such brokered deposits. As of December 31, 2021, the bank did not have any deposit liabilities categorized as brokered deposits.
The FDIC has previously published industry guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions with respect to the categorization of deposit liabilities as brokered deposits. The FDIC published a proposed rule to modify the “national rate” definition that would apply to insured depository institutions that are less than well-capitalized in August 2019. In addition, in December 2019 and in connection with the Regulatory Relief Act, the FDIC published proposed revisions to its regulations relating to the brokered deposits restrictions. Specifically, the FDIC proposed to (i) revise the definition of the "facilitation" prong of the "deposit broker" definition; (ii) provide that a wholly-owned operating subsidiary be eligible for the insured depository institution exception to the deposit broker definition under certain circumstances; and (iii) amend the "primary purpose" exception. On December 15, 2020, the FDIC released a final rule, effective April 1, 2021, which may encourage the update of certain bank services. The changes introduced by the final rule include, among other things, (i) adding definitions of “engaged in the business of placing deposits” and “engaged in the business of facilitating the placement of deposits,” (ii) establishing certain designated business exceptions that would automatically meet the “primary purpose” exception from the deposit broker definition (Designated Business Exceptions), and (iii) formalizing an application process for the “primary purpose” exception for parties that do not qualify for the Designated Business Exceptions. The final rule did not have a material effect on the Company's financial statements.
Bank Holding Company Regulation
As contained in both federal and state banking laws and regulations, a wide range of requirements and restrictions apply to bank holding companies and their subsidiaries which:
•require regular periodic reports and such additional reports of information as the Federal Reserve may require;
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•require bank holding companies to meet or exceed minimum capital requirements (see the "Capital Adequacy Requirements" section above and the "Capital Resources" section in the MD&A);
•require that bank holding companies serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to subsidiary banks and commit resources as necessary to support each subsidiary bank. The source-of-strength doctrine most directly affects bank holding companies where a bank holding company's subsidiary bank fails to maintain adequate capital levels. In such a situation, the subsidiary bank will be required by the bank's federal regulator to take "prompt corrective action" (see the "Prompt Corrective Action Provisions" section above);
•limit dividends payable to shareholders and restrict the ability of bank holding companies to obtain dividends or other distributions from their subsidiary banks;
•require a bank holding company to terminate an activity or terminate control of or liquidate or divest certain subsidiaries, affiliates or investments if the Federal Reserve believes the activity or the control of the subsidiary or affiliate constitutes a significant risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of any bank subsidiary;
•require the prior approval for changes in senior executive officers or directors and prohibit golden parachute payments, including change in control agreements, or new employment agreements with such payment terms, which are contingent upon termination when a bank holding company is deemed to be in troubled condition;
•regulate provisions of certain bank holding company debt, including the authority to impose interest ceilings and reserve requirements on such debt and require prior approval to purchase or redeem securities in certain situations;
•require prior approval for the acquisition of 5% or more of the voting stock of a bank or bank holding company by bank holding companies or other acquisitions and mergers with other banks or bank holding companies and require the regulators to consider certain competitive, management, financial, and anti-money laundering compliance impact on the U.S.; and
•require prior notice and/or prior approval of the acquisition of control of a bank or a bank holding company by a shareholder or individuals acting in concert with ownership or control of 10% of the voting stock being a presumption of control.
Change in Bank Control
Federal law and regulation set forth the types of transactions that require prior notice under the Change in Bank Control Act (“CIBCA”). Pursuant to CIBCA and Regulation Y, any person (acting directly or indirectly) that seeks to acquire control of a bank or its holding company must provide prior notice to the Federal Reserve. A “person” includes an individual, bank, corporation, partnership, trust, association, joint venture, pool, syndicate, sole proprietorship, unincorporated organization, or any other form of entity. A person acquires "control" of a banking organization whenever the person acquires ownership, control, or the power to vote 25 percent or more of any class of voting securities of the institution. The applicable regulations also provide for certain other "rebuttable" presumptions of control. In April 2020, the Federal Reserve adopted a final rule to revise its regulations related to determinations of whether a company has the ability to exercise a controlling influence over another company for purposes of the BHCA. The final rule expands and codifies the presumptions for use in such determinations. By codifying the presumptions, the final rule provides greater transparency on the types of relationships that the Federal Reserve generally views as supporting a facts and circumstances determination that one company controls another company. The Federal Reserve’s final rule applies to questions of control under the BHCA, but does not extend to CIBCA or applicable provisions of Hawaii law.
Other Restrictions on the Company's Activities
Subject to prior notice or Federal Reserve approval, bank holding companies may generally engage in, or acquire shares of companies engaged in, activities determined by the Federal Reserve to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. Bank holding companies that elect and retain "financial holding company" status pursuant to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 ("GLBA") may engage in these non-banking activities and broader securities, insurance, merchant banking and other activities that are determined to be "financial in nature" or are incidental or complementary to activities that are financial in nature without prior Federal Reserve approval. Pursuant to the GLBA and the Dodd-Frank Act, in order to elect and retain financial holding company status, a bank holding company and all depository institution subsidiaries of that bank holding company must be well capitalized and well managed, and, except in limited circumstances, depository subsidiaries must be in satisfactory compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA"),
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which requires banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate. Failure to sustain compliance with these requirements or correct any non-compliance within a fixed time period could lead to the required divestiture of subsidiary banks or the termination of all activities that do not conform to those permissible for a bank holding company. The Company has not elected financial holding company status and neither the Company nor the bank has engaged in any activities determined by the Federal Reserve to be non-banking and financial in nature or incidental or complementary to activities that are financial in nature.
Dividends
It is the Federal Reserve's policy that bank holding companies should generally pay dividends on common stock only out of income available over the past year, and only if prospective earnings retention is consistent with the organization's expected future needs and financial condition. It is also the Federal Reserve's policy that bank holding companies should not maintain dividend levels that undermine their ability to be a source of strength to their banking subsidiaries. The Federal Reserve has also discouraged payment ratios that are at maximum allowable levels unless both asset quality and capital are very strong. The Company is also subject to restrictions on dividends under applicable Hawaii law.
The bank is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its holding company. CPF is dependent on the performance of the bank for funds which may be received as dividends from the bank for use in the operation of CPF and the ability of CPF to pay dividends to shareholders. Subject to regulatory and statutory restrictions, including restrictions under applicable Hawaii law and federal regulation, future cash dividends by the bank will depend upon management's assessment of future capital requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors.
Regulation of the Bank
As a Hawaii state-chartered bank whose deposits are insured by the FDIC, the bank is subject to regulation, supervision, and regular examination by the DFI, and by the FDIC, as the bank's primary Federal regulator. Specific federal and state laws and regulations which are applicable to banks regulate, among other things, the scope of their business, their investments, their reserves against deposits, the timing of the availability of deposited funds, their activities relating to dividends, investments, loans, the nature and amount of collateral for certain loans, servicing and foreclosing on loans, transactions with affiliates, officers, directors and other insiders, borrowings, capital requirements, certain check-clearing activities, branching, and mergers and acquisitions.
FDIC and DFI Enforcement Authority
The federal and Hawaii regulatory structure gives the bank regulatory agencies extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities and examination policies, including policies with respect to the classification of assets and the establishment of adequate loan loss reserves for regulatory purposes. The regulatory agencies have adopted guidelines to assist in identifying and addressing potential safety and soundness concerns before an institution's capital becomes impaired. The guidelines establish operational and managerial standards generally relating to: (1) internal controls, information systems, and internal audit systems; (2) loan documentation; (3) credit underwriting; (4) interest-rate exposure; (5) asset growth and asset quality; and (6) compensation, fees, and benefits. Further, the regulatory agencies have adopted safety and soundness guidelines for asset quality and for evaluating and monitoring earnings to ensure that earnings are sufficient for the maintenance of adequate capital and reserves. If, as a result of an examination, the DFI or the FDIC should determine that the financial condition, capital resources, asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity, market sensitivity, or other aspects of the bank's operations are unsatisfactory or that the bank or its management is violating or has violated any law or regulation, the DFI and the FDIC, and separately the FDIC as insurer of the bank's deposits, have residual authority to:
•require affirmative action to correct any conditions resulting from any violation or practice;
•direct an increase in capital and the maintenance of higher specific minimum capital ratios, which may preclude the bank from being deemed well capitalized and restrict its ability to accept certain brokered deposits;
•restrict the bank's growth geographically, by products and services, or by mergers and acquisitions, including bidding in FDIC receiverships for failed banks;
•enter into or issue informal or formal enforcement actions, including required Board resolutions, memoranda of understanding, written agreements and consent or cease and desist orders or prompt corrective action orders to take corrective action and cease unsafe and unsound practices;
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•require prior approval of senior executive officer or director changes; remove officers and directors and assess civil monetary penalties; and
•terminate FDIC insurance, revoke the charter and/or take possession of and close and liquidate the bank or appoint the FDIC as receiver, which for a Hawaii state-chartered bank would result in a revocation of its charter.
Mergers and Acquisitions
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy”. Included within the order is a sweeping recommendation that the Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of the FRB, FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") review current practices and adopt a plan within 180 days for the “revitalization” of bank merger oversight to provide more extensive scrutiny of mergers. We will continue to evaluate the impact of any changes to the regulations implementing this executive order and their impact to our financial condition, results of operations, and/or business strategies, which cannot be predicted at this time.
Deposit Insurance
The FDIC is an independent federal agency that insures deposits through the Deposit Insurance Fund (the "DIF") up to prescribed statutory limits of federally insured banks and savings institutions and safeguards the safety and soundness of the banking and savings industries. The Dodd-Frank Act revised the FDIC's DIF management authority by setting requirements for the Designated Reserve Ratio (the "DRR", calculated as the DIF balance divided by estimated insured deposits) and redefining the assessment base which is used to calculate banks' quarterly assessments. The amount of FDIC assessments paid by each DIF member institution is based on its asset size and its relative risk of default as measured by regulatory capital ratios and other supervisory factors. We are generally unable to control the amount of premiums that we are required to pay for FDIC insurance. On September 30, 2018, the DRR reached 1.36%. Because the reserve ratio has exceeded 1.35%, two deposit insurance assessment changes occurred under the FDIC regulations: 1) Surcharges on large banks (total consolidated assets of $10 billion or more) ended; the last surcharge on large banks was collected on December 28, 2018. and 2) Small banks (total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion) were awarded assessment credits for the portion of their assessments that contributed to the growth in the reserve ratio from 1.15% to 1.35%. Credits will be applied until exhausted when the reserve ratio is at least 1.35%. The reserve ratio exceeded the minimum 1.35% on June 30, 2019, September 30, 2019, December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020. Therefore, credits were applied on each invoice until exhausted on the June 30, 2020 invoice.
If there are additional bank or financial institution failures or if the FDIC otherwise determines or if our asset size or risk of default increases, we may be required to pay higher FDIC premiums. Any future increases in FDIC insurance premiums may have a material and adverse effect on our earnings and could have a material adverse effect on the value of, or market for, our common stock.
Incentive Compensation
Under regulatory guidance applicable to all banking organizations, incentive compensation policies must be consistent with safety and soundness principles. Under this guidance, financial institutions must review their compensation programs to ensure that they: (i) provide employees with incentives that appropriately balance risk and reward and that do not encourage imprudent risk, (ii) are compatible with effective controls and risk management, and (iii) are supported by strong corporate governance, including active and effective oversight by the banking organization’s board of directors. Monitoring methods and processes used by a banking organization should be commensurate with the size and complexity of the organization and its use of incentive compensation. During 2016, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the federal bank regulatory agencies and the SEC proposed revised rules on incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities having at least $1 billion of total assets. These proposed rules have not been finalized. In October 2021, the SEC reopened the comment period on its 2015 proposed rule to implement its provisions on incentive compensation which would require (i) national securities exchanges to establish listing standards that would require each issuer to develop and implement a policy providing for the recovery of incentive-based compensation based on financial information required to be reported under the securities laws that is received by current or former executive officers and (ii) disclosure of the policy.
Cybersecurity
Federal regulators have issued multiple statements regarding cybersecurity stating that financial institutions need to design multiple layers of security controls to establish lines of defense and to ensure that their risk management processes also address the risk posed by compromised customer credentials, including security measures to reliably authenticate customers accessing internet-based services of the financial institution. In addition, a financial institution’s management is expected to maintain sufficient business continuity planning processes to ensure the rapid recovery, resumption and maintenance of the institution’s
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operations after a cyber-attack involving destructive malware. A financial institution is also expected to develop appropriate processes to enable recovery of data and business operations and address rebuilding network capabilities and restoring data if the institution or its critical service providers fall victim to this type of cyber-attack. In November 2021, the federal banking agencies adopted a final rule, with compliance required by May 1, 2022, that requires banking organizations to notify their primary banking regulator within 36 hours of determining that a “computer-security incident” has materially disrupted or degraded, or is reasonably likely to materially disrupt or degrade, the banking organization’s ability to carry out banking operations or deliver banking products and services to a material portion of its customer base, its businesses and operations that would result in material loss, or its operations that would impact the stability of the United States. If we fail to observe the regulatory guidance, we could be subject to various regulatory sanctions, including financial penalties.
State regulators have also been increasingly active in implementing privacy and cybersecurity standards and regulations, including California and New York. Other states have adopted regulations requiring certain financial institutions to implement cybersecurity programs and providing detailed requirements with respect to these programs, including data encryption requirements. Many states have also recently implemented or modified their data breach notification and data privacy requirements. We expect this trend of state-level activity in those areas to continue, and are continually monitoring developments in the states in which our customers are located in or in which we conduct business.
In the ordinary course of business, we rely on electronic communications and information systems to conduct our operations and to store sensitive data. We employ an in-depth, layered, defensive approach that leverages people, processes and technology to manage and maintain cybersecurity controls. We employ a variety of preventative and detective tools to monitor, block, and provide alerts regarding suspicious activity, as well as to report on any suspected advanced persistent threats. Notwithstanding the strength of our defensive measures, the threat from cyber-attacks is severe, attacks are sophisticated and increasing in volume, and attackers respond rapidly to changes in defensive measures. While to date we have not detected a significant compromise, significant data loss or any material financial losses related to cybersecurity attacks, our systems and those of our customers and third-party service providers are under constant threat and it is possible that we could experience a significant event in the future. Risks and exposures related to cybersecurity attacks are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future due to the rapidly evolving nature and sophistication of these threats, as well as due to the expanding use of internet banking, mobile banking and other technology-based products and services by us and our customers. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for a further discussion of risks related to cybersecurity.
Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") Regulation
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and regimes, under authority of various laws, including designated foreign countries, nationals and others. OFAC publishes lists of specially designated targets and countries. We are responsible for, among other things, blocking accounts of, and transactions with, such targets and countries, prohibiting unlicensed trade and financial transactions with them and reporting blocked transactions after their occurrence. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious financial, legal and reputational consequences, including causing applicable bank regulatory authorities not to approve merger or acquisition transactions when regulatory approval is required or to prohibit such transactions even if approval is not required. Regulatory authorities have imposed cease and desist orders and civil money penalties against institutions found to be violating these obligations.
Operations and Consumer Compliance Laws
The bank must comply with numerous federal and state anti-money laundering and consumer protection and privacy statutes and implementing regulations, including the USA Patriot Act of 2001, GLBA, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the CRA, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the National Flood Insurance Act, and various federal and state privacy protection laws, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the CAN-SPAM Act. Noncompliance with these laws could subject the bank to lawsuits and could also result in administrative penalties, including, fines and reimbursements. The Company and the bank are also subject to federal and state laws prohibiting unfair or fraudulent business practices, untrue or misleading advertising and unfair competition.
These laws and regulations mandate certain disclosure and reporting requirements and regulate the manner in which financial institutions must deal with customers when taking deposits, making loans, servicing, collecting, and foreclosure of loans, and providing other services. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can subject the bank to various penalties, including but not limited to enforcement actions, injunctions, fines or criminal penalties, punitive damages, and the loss of certain contractual rights.
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The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”), which amends the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (“BSA”), was enacted in January 2021. The AMLA is intended to be a comprehensive reform and modernization to U.S. bank secrecy and anti-money laundering laws. Among other things, it codifies a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering compliance for financial institutions; requires the development of standards for evaluating technology and internal processes for BSA compliance; expands enforcement- and investigation-related authority, including increasing available sanctions for certain BSA violations and instituting BSA whistleblower incentives and protections.
The Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) is intended to encourage insured depository institutions, while operating safely and soundly, to help meet the credit needs of their communities. The CRA specifically directs the federal bank regulatory agencies, in examining insured depository institutions, to assess their record of helping to meet the credit needs of their entire community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The CRA further requires the agencies to take a financial institution’s record of meeting its community credit needs into account when evaluating applications for, among other things, domestic branches, consummating mergers or acquisitions or holding company formations. In December 2019, the FDIC and the OCC jointly proposed rules that would significantly change existing CRA regulations. The proposed rules are intended to increase bank activity in low- and moderate-income communities where there is significant need for credit, more responsible lending, greater access to banking services, and improvements to critical infrastructure. The proposals change four key areas: (i) clarifying what activities qualify for CRA credit; (ii) updating where activities count for CRA credit; (iii) providing a more transparent and objective method for measuring CRA performance; and (iv) revising CRA-related data collection, record keeping, and reporting. However, the Federal Reserve Board did not join in that proposed rulemaking. In June 2020, the OCC issued its final CRA rule, effective October 1, 2020, while the FDIC did not finalize any revisions to its CRA rule. In September 2020, the Federal Reserve Board issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”) that invited public comment on an approach to modernize the regulations that implement the CRA by strengthening, clarifying, and tailoring them to reflect the current banking landscape and better meet the core purpose of the CRA. The ANPR sought feedback on ways to evaluate how banks meet the needs of low- and moderate-income communities and address inequities in credit access. In December 2021, the OCC issued a final rule to rescind its June 2020 final rule in favor of working with other agencies to put forward a joint rule. We will continue to evaluate the impact of any changes to the regulations implementing the CRA and their impact to our financial condition, results of operations, and/or liquidity, which cannot be predicted at this time. The bank received an "Outstanding" rating in the FDIC's 2019 Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluation that measures how financial institutions support their communities in the areas of lending, investment and service.
We will continue to evaluate the impact of any changes to bank and holding company regulations and their impact to our financial condition, results of operations, and/or liquidity, which cannot be predicted at this time.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB")
The Dodd-Frank Act provided for the creation of the CFPB as an independent entity with broad rule making, supervisory and enforcement authority over consumer financial products and services, including deposit products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and credit cards. The CFPB’s functions include investigating consumer complaints, conducting market research, rule making, and enforcing rules related to consumer financial products and services. CFPB regulations and guidance apply to all covered persons, and banks with $10 billion or more in assets are subject to supervision including examination by the CFPB. Banks with less than $10 billion in assets, including the bank, will continue to be examined for compliance by their primary federal banking agency.
The CFPB has finalized a number of significant rules which impact nearly every aspect of the lifecycle of a residential mortgage loan. These rules implement the Dodd-Frank Act amendments to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Among other things, the rules adopted by the CFPB require covered persons including banks making residential mortgage loans to: (i) develop and implement procedures to ensure compliance with an "ability-to-repay" test and identify whether a loan meets a new definition for a "qualified mortgage", in which case a rebuttable presumption exists that the creditor extending the loan has satisfied the ability-to-repay test; (ii) implement new or revised disclosures, policies and procedures for originating and servicing mortgages including, but not limited to, pre-loan counseling, early intervention with delinquent borrowers and specific loss mitigation procedures for loans secured by a borrower's principal residence; (iii) comply with additional restrictions on mortgage loan originator hiring and compensation; (iv) comply with new disclosure requirements and standards for appraisals and certain financial products; and (v) maintain escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans for a longer period of time.
The review of products and practices to prevent unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices ("UDAAP") has been a focus of the CFPB, and of banking regulators more broadly. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act provides the CFPB with broad supervisory, examination and enforcement authority over various consumer financial products and services, including the ability to require
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reimbursements and other payments to customers for alleged violations of UDAAP and other legal requirements and to impose significant penalties, as well as injunctive relief that prohibits lenders from engaging in allegedly unlawful practices. The CFPB also has the authority to obtain cease and desist orders providing for affirmative relief or monetary penalties. The Dodd-Frank Act does not prevent states from adopting stricter consumer protection standards. State regulation of financial products and potential enforcement actions could also adversely affect the bank’s business, financial condition or results of operations.
The federal bank regulators have adopted rules limiting the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose non-public information about consumers to unaffiliated third parties. These limitations require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to a non-affiliated third party. These regulations affect how consumer information is transmitted through diversified financial companies and conveyed to outside vendors. In addition, consumers may also prevent disclosure of certain information among affiliated companies that is assembled or used to determine eligibility for a product or service, such as that shown on consumer credit reports and asset and income information from applications. Consumers also have the option to direct banks and other financial institutions not to share information about transactions and experiences with affiliated companies for the purpose of marketing products or services.
Under the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve adopted rules establishing standards for assessing whether the interchange fees that may be charged with respect to certain electronic debit transactions are “reasonable and proportional” to the costs incurred by issuers for processing such transactions.
Interchange fees, or “swipe” fees, are charges that merchants pay to us and other card-issuing banks for processing electronic payment transactions. Under the final rules, the maximum permissible interchange fee is equal to no more than 21 cents plus 5 basis points of the transaction value for many types of debit interchange transactions. The Federal Reserve also adopted a rule to allow a debit card issuer to recover one cent per transaction for fraud prevention purposes if the issuer complies with certain fraud-related requirements required by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve also has rules governing routing and exclusivity that require issuers to offer two unaffiliated networks for routing transactions on each debit or prepaid product.
Currently, we qualify for the small issuer exemption from the interchange fee cap, which applies to any debit card issuer that, together with its affiliates, has total assets of less than $10 billion as of the end of the previous calendar year. We will become subject to the interchange fee cap beginning July 1 of the year following the time when our total assets reaches or exceeds $10 billion. Reliance on the small issuer exemption does not exempt us from federal regulations prohibiting network exclusivity arrangements or from routing restrictions.
Commercial Real Estate Concentration Limits
In December 2006, the federal banking regulators issued guidance entitled “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound Risk Management Practices” to address increased concentrations in commercial real estate and construction, or "CRE", loans. In addition, in December 2015, the federal bank agencies issued additional guidance entitled “Statement on Prudent Risk Management for Commercial Real Estate Lending.” Together, these guidelines describe the criteria the agencies will use as indicators to identify institutions potentially exposed to CRE concentration risk. An institution that has (i) experienced rapid growth in CRE lending, (ii) notable exposure to a specific type of CRE, (iii) total reported loans for construction, land development, and other land representing 100% or more of the institution’s capital, or (iv) total CRE loans representing 300% or more of the institution’s capital, and the outstanding balance of the institutions CRE portfolio has increased by 50% or more in the prior 36 months, may be identified for further supervisory analysis of the level and nature of its CRE concentration risk. As of December 31, 2021, the bank’s construction, land development, and other land and total CRE loans represented 22.0% and 240.6% of its capital, respectively.
Future Legislation and Regulation
Congress may enact, modify or repeal legislation from time to time that affects the regulation of the financial services industry, and state legislatures may enact, modify or repeal legislation from time to time affecting the regulation of financial institutions chartered by or operating in those states. Federal and state regulatory agencies also periodically propose and adopt changes to their regulations or change the manner in which existing regulations are applied. The substance or impact of pending or future legislation or regulation, or the application thereof, cannot be predicted, although enactment of proposed legislation (or modification or repeal of existing legislation) could impact the regulatory structure under which the Company and bank operate and may significantly increase its costs, impede the efficiency of its internal business processes, require the bank to increase its regulatory capital and modify its business strategy, and limit its ability to pursue business opportunities in an efficient manner. Under these circumstances, the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may be adversely affected, perhaps materially.
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Employees and Human Capital
We believe that the success of our business is largely due to the quality of our employees, the development of each employee's full potential, and our ability to provide timely and satisfying rewards. At December 31, 2021, we employed 820 persons, 760 on a full-time basis and 60 on a part-time basis. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreement.
We encourage and support the growth and development of our employees and, wherever possible, seek to fill positions by promotion and transfer from within the organization. Continual learning and career development are advanced through ongoing development conversations and annual performance reviews with employees, internally developed training programs, conferences, and other training events that employees are encouraged to attend in connection with their job duties. Additionally, we invest in continual learning and development through tuition reimbursement for courses, degree programs and fees paid for certifications.
The safety, health and wellness of our employees is a top priority. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique challenge with regards to maintaining employee safety while continuing successful operations. Through teamwork and the adaptability of our management and staff, we were able to transition during the peak of the pandemic, over a short period of time, to a work schedule allowing employees to effectively work from home and ensure a socially-distanced working environment for employees performing customer-facing activities at branches, and employees working at our operations centers. All employees are asked not to come to work when they experience signs or symptoms of a possible COVID-19 illness or if they have come into contact with the possible illness. On an ongoing basis, we further promote the health and wellness of our employees by strongly encouraging work-life balance, offering flexible work schedules, keeping the employee portion of health care premiums to a minimum and sponsoring various wellness programs.
Employee retention helps us operate efficiently and achieve one of our business objectives, which is being an exceptional service provider. We believe our commitment to living out our core values, actively prioritizing concern for our employees’ well-being, supporting our employees’ career goals, offering competitive wages and providing valuable fringe benefits aids in retention of our top-performing employees. In addition, nearly all of our employees have the opportunity to become stockholders of the Company through a restricted stock grant issued to nearly all employees in 2020 and/or other restricted stock grants issued under our stock compensation plan, which aligns employees and stockholder interests by providing stock ownership on a tax-deferred basis at no investment cost to our employees. At December 31, 2021, the average employee has 10 years of service and 36% of our current staff had been with us for ten years or more.
Available Information
Our internet website can be found at www.cpb.bank. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports can be found on our internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Copies of the Company's filings with the SEC may also be obtained directly from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. These documents may also be obtained in print upon request to our Investor Relations Department.
Also posted on our website and available in print upon request to our Investor Relations Department, are the charters for our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Corporate Governance Committee, as well as our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Within the time period required by the SEC and NYSE, we will post on our website any amendment to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and any waiver applicable to our senior financial officers, as defined by the SEC, and our executive officers or directors. In addition, our website includes information concerning purchases and sales of our equity securities by our executive officers and directors, as well as disclosure relating to certain non-GAAP financial measures (as defined in the SEC's Regulation G) that we may make public orally, telephonically, by webcast, by broadcast or by similar means from time to time.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business faces significant risks, including credit, market/liquidity, operational, legal/regulatory and strategic/reputation risks. The factors described below may not be the only risks we face and are not intended to serve as a comprehensive listing or be applicable only to the category of risk under which they are disclosed. The risks described below are generally applicable to more than one of the following categories of risks. Additional risks that we do not yet know of or that we currently think are immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described in the following factors actually occurs, our business, financial condition and/or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Economic Risks
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the State of Hawaii and our business. The ultimate impact on our business and financial results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities in response to the pandemic.
Our operations, like those of other financial institutions that operate in our market, are significantly influenced by economic conditions in Hawaii, including the strength of the real estate market and the tourism industry. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an extreme decline in tourism to the state of Hawaii in 2020. In 2021, we experienced a rebound in tourism, but not to the full extent of pre-pandemic levels. Should economic conditions in the state of Hawaii deteriorate again due to actual or perceived increase in COVID-19 risk, including further spread and new variants, it can negatively impact our results of operations, including our net income. In addition, material adverse effects on our business may include all or a combination of valuation impairments on our investments, loans, mortgage servicing rights, deferred tax assets or counter-party risk derivatives.
Furthermore, a prolonged or worsening pandemic could influence the recognition of credit losses in our loan portfolios and increase our allowance for credit losses. Similarly, because of changing economic and market conditions affecting issuers, we may be required to recognize an allowance for credit losses in future periods on the securities we hold as well as reductions in other comprehensive income.
While most of our temporarily closed branches and offices have reopened, there is potential that our business operations may be disrupted if our workforce is unable to work effectively, including because of illness, quarantines, government actions, or other restrictions.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as our results of operations and our regulatory capital and liquidity ratios, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic.
Difficult economic and market conditions in Hawaii would result in significant adverse effects on us because of the geographic concentration of our business.
Unlike larger national or other regional banks that are more geographically diversified, our business and operations are closely tied to the Hawaii market. The Hawaii economy relies on tourism, real estate, government and other service-based industries. Declines in tourism, increases in energy costs, the availability of affordable air transportation, adverse weather and natural disasters, and local budget issues impact consumer and corporate spending. As a result, such events may contribute to the deterioration in Hawaii's general economic condition, which could adversely impact us and our borrowers.
In addition, the high concentration of Hawaii real estate loans in our portfolio, combined with the deterioration in these sectors caused by an economic downturn, previously had and could have in the future a significantly more adverse impact on our operating results than many other banks across the nation. If our borrowers experience financial difficulty, or if property values securing our real estate loans decline, we will incur elevated credit costs due to the composition and concentration of our loan portfolio, which will have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our real estate loan operations have a considerable effect on our results of operations.
The performance of our real estate loans depends on a number of factors, including the continued strength of the real estate markets in which we operate. As we have previously seen in the Hawaii and U.S. Mainland construction and real estate
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markets, the strength of the real estate market and the results of our operations could be negatively affected by an economic downturn.
In addition, declines in the market for commercial property could cause some of our borrowers to suffer losses on their projects, which would negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Declines in housing prices and the supply of existing houses for sale could cause residential developers who are our borrowers to suffer losses on their projects and encounter difficulty in repaying their loans. We cannot assure you that we will have an adequate allowance for credit losses to cover future losses. If we suffer greater losses than we are projecting, our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Our ability to maintain adequate sources of funding and liquidity and required capital levels may be negatively impacted by uncertainty in the economic environment which may, among other things, impact our ability to satisfy our obligations.
Liquidity is essential to our business. An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of investments or loans, and other sources would have a substantial negative effect on our liquidity which could affect or limit our ability to satisfy our obligations and our ability to grow profitability at the same rate. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically, the financial services industry, or the economy in general. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include concerns regarding deterioration in our financial condition, increased regulatory actions against us and a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of a downturn in the markets in which our loans or deposits are concentrated. Our ability to borrow could also be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a disruption in the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial industry in light of the past turmoil faced by banking organizations and the credit markets. In addition, our financial flexibility could be constrained if we are unable to maintain our access to funding or if adequate financing is not available to accommodate future growth at acceptable interest rates, including in the current rising interest rate environment.
The management of liquidity risk is critical to the management of our business and our ability to service our customer base. In managing our balance sheet, our primary source of funding is customer deposits. Our ability to continue to attract these deposits and other funding sources is subject to variability based upon a number of factors including volume and volatility in the securities' markets, our financial condition, our credit rating and the relative interest rates that we are prepared to pay for these liabilities. The availability and level of deposits and other funding sources is highly dependent upon the perception of the liquidity and creditworthiness of the financial institution, and perception can change quickly in response to market conditions or circumstances unique to a particular company. Concerns about our past and future financial condition or concerns about our credit exposure to other parties could adversely impact our sources of liquidity, financial position, including regulatory capital ratios, results of operations and our business prospects.
If our level of deposits were to materially decrease, we would need to raise additional funds by increasing the interest that we pay on certificates of deposits or other depository accounts, seek other debt or equity financing or draw upon our available lines of credit. We rely on commercial and retail deposits, and to a lesser extent, advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines ("FHLB") and the Federal Reserve discount window, to fund our operations. Although we have historically been able to replace maturing deposits and advances as necessary, we might not be able to replace such funds in the future if, among other things, our results of operations or financial condition or the results of operations or financial condition of the FHLB or market conditions were to change.
During 2020 and 2021, our level of deposits increased materially, which was largely driven by customer response to the pandemic including market instability and deposits of PPP funds and government assistance. We cannot assure you that the bank will retain these deposits.
Our line of credit with the FHLB serves as a primary outside source of liquidity. The Federal Reserve discount window also serves as an additional outside source of liquidity. Borrowings under this arrangement are through the Federal Reserve's primary facility under the borrower-in-custody program. The duration of borrowings from the Federal Reserve discount window are generally for a very short period, usually overnight. In the event that these outside sources of liquidity become unavailable to us, we will need to seek additional sources of liquidity, including selling assets. We cannot assure you that we will be able to sell assets at a level to allow us to repay borrowings or meet our liquidity needs.
We constantly monitor our activities with respect to liquidity and evaluate closely our utilization of our cash assets; however, there can be no assurance that our liquidity or the cost of funds to us may not be materially and adversely impacted as a result of economic, market, or operational considerations that we may not be able to control.
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The fiscal, monetary and regulatory policies of the federal government and its agencies could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The FRB regulates the supply of money and credit in the U.S. Its policies determine in large part the cost of funds for lending and investing and the return earned on those loans and investments, both of which affect the net interest margin. It also can materially decrease the value of financial assets we hold, such as debt securities.
Our net interest income and net interest margin may be negatively impacted by a prolonged low interest rate environment as it may result in us holding lower yielding loans and securities on our balance sheet, particularly if we are unable to replace the maturing higher yielding assets with similar higher yielding assets. Changes in the slope of the yield curve, which represents the spread between short-term and long-term interest rates, could also reduce our net interest income and net interest margin. Historically, the yield curve is upward sloping, meaning short-term rates are lower than long-term rates. When the yield curve flattens, our net interest income and net interest margin could decrease as our cost of funds increases relative to the yield we can earn on our assets.
In a rising interest rate environment, as we are currently experiencing, there is potential for decreased demand for our loan products, an increase in our cost of funds, and the curtailment of economic recovery.
Changes in FRB policies and our regulatory environment are beyond our control, and we are unable to predict what changes may occur or the manner in which any future changes may affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
Negative developments in the global and U.S. economies could have an adverse effect on us.
Our business and operations are sensitive to business and economic conditions globally and domestically. Adverse economic and business conditions in the U.S. generally, and in our market areas, in particular, could reduce our growth rate, affect our borrowers' ability to repay their loans and, consequently, adversely affect our financial condition and performance. Other economic conditions that affect our financial performance include short-term and long-term interest rates, the prevailing yield curve, inflation (which we are currently experiencing) and price levels (particularly for real estate), monetary policy, unemployment and the strength of the domestic economy as a whole. Unfavorable market conditions can result in a deterioration in the credit quality of our borrowers and the demand for our products and services, an increase in the number of loan delinquencies, defaults and charge-offs, additional provisions for credit losses, adverse asset values and an overall material adverse effect on the quality of our loan portfolio. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by declines in economic growth, business activity or investor or business confidence; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; increases in inflation or interest rates; high unemployment; natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors.
Credit Risks
Our Banking-as-a-Service ("BaaS") collaboration agreements may expose us to credit risk.
Our collaboration with Swell Financial, Inc. ("Swell") and Elevate Credit, Inc. (“Elevate”) provides that the bank has entered into an agreement with Swell pursuant to which Swell will market bank consumer checking and consumer line of credit (“LOC”) accounts using the Swell brand and Swell’s digital platform. A subsidiary of Elevate will be providing the underwriting model for the LOC accounts. Another subsidiary of Elevate will cover any losses on the LOC accounts, and in addition will provide cash collateral to the bank to secure payment of such losses. Further, Elevate will be a partial guarantor of losses on the LOC accounts. While the bank believes the Elevate subsidiary’s cash collateral on deposit at the bank will be sufficient to cover any foreseeable losses on the LOC accounts, in the event the cash collateral amount is not adequately maintained or the cash collateral amount is insufficient to cover the losses on the LOC accounts and the Elevate subsidiary does not or cannot otherwise meet its obligations under its agreement with the bank and Elevate does not or cannot meet its obligations under its partial guaranty, the bank may incur losses on the LOC accounts. Losses associated with the LOC accounts (or the portfolios of other third parties with whom we enter into comparable BaaS relationships) in such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our net income, results of operations and financial condition.
A large percentage of our loans are collateralized by real estate and any deterioration in the real estate market may result in additional losses and adversely affect our financial results.
Our results of operations have been, and in future periods, will continue to be significantly impacted by the economy in Hawaii, and to a lesser extent, other markets we are exposed to including California. Approximately 76% of our loan portfolio as of
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December 31, 2021 was comprised of loans primarily collateralized by real estate, with the significant majority of these loans concentrated in Hawaii.
Deterioration of the economic environment in Hawaii, California or other markets we are exposed to, domestic or foreign, including a decline in the real estate market and single-family home resales or a material external shock, may significantly impair the value of our collateral and our ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure. In the event of a default with respect to any of these loans, amounts received upon sale of the collateral may be insufficient to recover outstanding principal and interest on the loan.
Our allowance for credit loss methodology resulted in a credit to our provision for credit losses but the credit provision may not continue.
In 2021, we recorded a credit to the provision for credit losses. Although other factors of our overall risk profile have improved in recent years and general economic trends and market conditions have stabilized, concerns over the global and U.S. economies still remain. Accordingly, it is possible that the real estate markets we participate in could deteriorate as it did from the latter part of 2007 through 2010. If this occurs, it may result in an increase in loan delinquencies, loan charge-offs, and our allowance for loan and lease losses. Even if economic conditions improve or stay the same, it is possible that we may experience material credit losses and in turn, increases to our allowance for credit losses, due to any number of factors, including but not limited to, the elevated risk still inherent in our existing loan portfolio resulting from our high concentration of loans collateralized by real estate. If that were to occur, we may have to record a provision for loan and lease losses which would have an adverse impact on our net income. Under typical stable portfolio and market conditions, we would generally record a provision for credit losses when there is growth in our loan portfolio.
Our allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to cover actual credit losses, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Additional credit losses may occur in the future and may occur at a rate greater than we have experienced to date.
As a lender, we are exposed to the risk that our loan customers may not repay their loans according to their terms and that the collateral or guarantees securing these loans may be insufficient to assure repayment. The underwriting and credit monitoring policies and procedures that we have adopted to address this risk may not prevent unexpected losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We maintain an allowance for credit losses to provide for loan defaults and non-performance, which also includes increases for new loan growth. While we believe that our allowance for credit losses is appropriate to cover expected losses, we cannot assure you that we will not increase the allowance for credit losses further or that regulators will not require us to increase the allowance for credit losses which could have a material adverse effect on our net income and financial condition.
Management makes various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, which are regularly reevaluated and are based in part on:
•current economic conditions and their estimated effects on specific borrowers;
•an evaluation of the existing relationships among loans, potential credit losses and the present level of the allowance for credit losses;
•results of examinations of our loan portfolios by regulatory agencies; and
•management's internal review of the loan portfolio.
In determining the size of the allowance for credit loss, we rely on an analysis of our loan portfolio, our experience and a third-party economic forecast. If our assumptions prove to be incorrect, our current allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to cover the losses.
In addition, third parties, including our federal and state regulators, periodically evaluate the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses and may communicate with us concerning the methodology or judgments that we have raised in determining the allowance for credit losses. As a result of this input, we may be required to assign different grades to specific credits, increase our provision for credit losses, and/or recognize further loan charge offs which could have a material adverse effect on our net income and financial condition. See Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Consolidated Financial Statements under "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
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Our commercial, financial and agricultural loan and commercial real estate loan portfolios expose us to risks that may be greater than the risks related to our other loans.
Our loan portfolio includes commercial, financial and agricultural loans and commercial real estate loans, which are secured by commercial real estate, including but not limited to, structures and facilities to support activities designated as multi-family residential properties, industrial, warehouse, general office, retail, health care and religious dwellings. Commercial, financial and agricultural and commercial real estate loans carry more risk as compared to other types of lending, because they typically involve larger loan balances often concentrated with a single borrower or groups of related borrowers.
Accordingly, charge-offs on commercial, financial and agricultural and commercial real estate loans may be larger on a per loan basis than those incurred with our residential or consumer loan portfolios. In addition, these loans expose a lender to greater credit risk than loans secured by residential real estate. The payment experience on commercial real estate loans that are secured by income producing properties are typically dependent on the successful operation of the related real estate property and thus, may subject us to adverse conditions in the real estate market or to the general economy. The collateral securing these loans typically cannot be liquidated as easily as residential real estate. If we foreclose on these loans, our holding period for the collateral typically is longer than residential properties because there are fewer potential purchasers of the collateral.
Unexpected deterioration in the credit quality of our commercial or commercial real estate loan portfolios would require us to increase our provision for credit losses, which would reduce our profitability and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In addition, federal and state banking regulators may require banks with higher levels of commercial real estate loans to implement more stringent underwriting, internal controls, risk management policies and portfolio stress testing, as well as possibly higher levels of allowances for credit losses and capital levels as a result of commercial real estate lending growth and exposures.
We may incur future losses in connection with certain representations and warranties we have made with respect to mortgages that we have sold in the secondary market.
In connection with the sale of mortgage loans into the secondary market, we make representations and warranties, which, if breached, may require us to repurchase such loans, substitute other loans or indemnify the purchasers of such loans for actual losses incurred in respect to such loans. A substantial decline in residential real estate values in the markets in which we originated such loans could increase the risk of such consequences. While we currently believe our repurchase risk is low, it is possible that requests to repurchase loans could occur in the future and such requests may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Interest Rate and Liquidity Risks
Our business is subject to interest rate risk and fluctuations in interest rates may adversely affect our earnings.
The majority of our assets and liabilities are monetary in nature and subject to risk from changes in interest rates. Like most financial institutions, our earnings and profitability depend significantly on our net interest income, which is the difference between interest income on interest-earning assets, such as loans and investment securities, and interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings. 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 will be more sensitive to changes in market interest rates than our interest-earning assets, or vice versa. If market interest rates should move contrary to our position, this "gap" will work against us and our earnings may be negatively affected. In light of our current volume and mix of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, our net interest margin could be expected to increase modestly during periods of rising interest rates, and to decline slightly during periods of falling interest rates. We are unable to predict or control fluctuations of market interest rates, which are affected by many factors, including the following:
•inflation;
•recession;
•market conditions;
•changes in unemployment;
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•the money supply;
•international disorder and instability in domestic and foreign financial markets; and
•governmental actions.
Our asset/liability management strategy may not be able to control our risk from changes in market interest rates and it may not be able to prevent changes in interest rates from having a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. From time to time, we may reposition our assets and liabilities to reduce our net interest income volatility. Failure to perform in any of these areas could significantly weaken our competitive position, which could adversely affect our growth and profitability, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
If we are unable to effectively manage the composition and risk of our investment securities portfolio, which we expect will continue to comprise a significant portion of our earning assets, our net interest income and net interest margin could be adversely affected.
Our primary sources of interest income include interest on loans, as well as interest earned on investment securities. Interest earned on investment securities represented 11.2% of our interest income in the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to 12.1% of our interest income in the year ended December 31, 2020. Accordingly, effectively managing our investment securities portfolio to generate interest income while managing the composition and risks (including credit, interest rate and liquidity) associated with that portfolio, including the mix of government agency and non-agency securities, remains important. If we are unable to effectively manage our investment securities portfolio or if the interest income generated by our investment securities portfolio declines, our net interest income and net interest margin could be adversely affected.
We may be adversely impacted by the transition from LIBOR as a reference rate
In 2017, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") announced that after 2021 it would no longer compel banks to submit the rates required to calculate the LIBOR. In March 2021, the FCA and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Benchmark Administration (IBA) announced that the publication of the most commonly used U.S. dollar LIBOR settings would be extended through June 30, 2023 and cease publishing other LIBOR settings after December 31, 2021. Subsequently, federal financial institution regulatory agencies in conjunction with state bank and credit union regulators issued a joint statement stressing their expectation that supervised institutions with LIBOR exposure continue to progress toward an orderly transition away from LIBOR. It is not possible to predict whether LIBOR will continue to be viewed as an acceptable market benchmark (until cessation), what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives, (including uncertainties regarding Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"), or what the effect of any such changes in views or alternative may be on the markets for LIBOR-indexed financial instruments. We have a cross-functional committee to lead the transition from LIBOR to a planned adoption of reference rates which could include SOFR, Prime Rate or others.
We have loans, derivatives and debt with attributes that are either directly or indirectly dependent on LIBOR. The transition from LIBOR could create considerable costs and additional risk. Since proposed alternative rates are calculated differently, payments under contracts referencing new rates will differ from those referencing LIBOR. The transition may change our market risk profile, and require changes to risk and pricing models, valuation tools, product design and hedging strategies. Although we are unable to assess what the ultimate impact of the transition from LIBOR will be, failure to adequately manage the transition could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We rely on the mortgage secondary market for some of our liquidity.
We originate and sell mortgage loans. We rely on Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") and other purchasers to purchase first mortgage loans in order to reduce our credit risk and interest rate risk and provide funding for additional loans we desire to originate. We cannot provide assurance that these purchasers will not materially limit their purchases from us due to capital constraints or other factors, including, with respect to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a change in the criteria for conforming loans. In addition, various proposals have been made to reform the U.S. residential mortgage finance market, including the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The exact effects of any such reforms are not yet known, but may limit our ability to sell conforming loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In addition, mortgage lending is highly regulated, and our inability to comply with all federal and state regulations and investor guidelines regarding the origination, underwriting, documentation and servicing of mortgage loans may also impact our ability to continue selling mortgage loans. If we are unable to continue to sell loans in the secondary market, our ability to fund, and thus originate, additional mortgage loans may be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
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We are required to act as a source of financial and managerial strength for our bank.
We are required to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to the bank. We may be required to commit additional resources to the bank at times when we may not be in a financial position to provide such resources or when it may not be in our, or our shareholders’ best interests to do so. Providing such support is more likely during times of financial stress for us and the bank, which may make any capital we are required to raise to provide such support more expensive than it might otherwise be. In addition, any capital loans we make to the bank are subordinate in right of payment to depositors and to certain other indebtedness of the bank.
We rely on dividends from our subsidiary for most of our revenue.
Because we are a holding company with no significant operations other than our bank, we depend upon dividends from our bank for a substantial portion of our revenues and our liquidity.
Hawaii law only permits the bank to pay dividends out of retained earnings as defined under Hawaii banking law ("Statutory Retained Earnings"), which differs from GAAP retained earnings. As of December 31, 2021, the bank had Statutory Retained Earnings of $114.0 million. In addition, regulatory authorities could limit the ability of the bank to pay dividends to CPF. The inability to receive dividends from the bank could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our ability to pay cash dividends to our shareholders is subject to restrictions under federal and Hawaii law, including restrictions imposed by the FRB and covenants set forth in various agreements we are a party to, including covenants set forth in our subordinated debentures and subordinated notes. We cannot provide any assurance that we will continue to pay dividends.
Operational Risks
Our RISE2020 initiative may not be successful.
During the second half of 2019 and throughout 2020, we invested an aggregate of approximately $40 million to upgrade our branch spaces, digital banking platforms and ATM network through an initiative we called RISE2020. RISE2020 was intended to enhance customer experience, drive stronger long-term growth and profitability, improve shareholder returns and lower our efficiency ratio. Our RISE2020 initiative was completed in early 2021, however, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in some revisions to our original initiatives, plans and timelines. Following the completion, we continue to monitor and further enhance our facilities, platforms and processes that were part of the RISE2020 initiative. While the investments we made in RISE2020 are projected to result in increased revenue and growth, the increases are forecasted to occur over a period of time and are heavily dependent upon our ability to continue to execute on our business and strategic objectives. We cannot provide any assurance that RISE2020 will achieve any of our objectives or will achieve our objectives to the extent we have forecasted. In particular, we may not be able to attract new business from existing customers; new customers may not be attracted to our platform despite the amount of expense we incur; and continued enhancements of RISE2020 initiatives may disrupt our operations. If our RISE2020 initiative is not successful, our overall noninterest expense will have increased without a corresponding increase in revenue and growth which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our agreements with BaaS partners may produce limited revenue and may expose us to liability for compliance violations by BaaS partners.
We recently announced the launch of a new BaaS initiative with the goal of expanding our services in Hawaii and on the U.S. Mainland by collaborating with and investing in fintech companies. In conjunction with that initiative, we intend to collaborate with Elevate Credit, Inc. and Swell Financial, Inc. where the bank will serve as the bank sponsor for a new consumer banking application. We may enter into agreements with other BaaS partners pursuant to which we will provide certain banking services for the BaaS partner customers. Our agreements with our partners will have varying terms and may be terminated by the parties under certain circumstances. If our BaaS partners are not successful in achieving customer acceptance of their programs or terminate the agreements before the end of their respective terms, our revenue under the various agreements may be limited or may cease altogether. In addition, our bank regulators may hold us responsible for the activities of our bank partners with respect to the marketing or administration of their programs, which may result in increased compliance costs for us or potentially compliance violations as a result of BaaS partner activities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
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Our strategy of offering BaaS has been adopted by other institutions with which we compete.
Other online banking operations as well as the online banking programs of other banks have instituted BaaS strategies similar to ours. As a consequence, we anticipate that we will encounter competition in this area currently and in the future. This competition may increase our costs, reduce our revenues or revenue growth or make it difficult for us to compete effectively in obtaining these relationships.
Managing reputational risk is important to attracting and maintaining customers, investors and employees
Threats to our reputation can come from many sources, including adverse sentiment about financial institutions generally, unethical practices, employee mistakes, misconduct or fraud, failure to deliver minimum standards of service or quality, failure of any product or service offered by us to meet our customers’ expectations, compliance deficiencies, government investigations, litigation, and questionable, unlawful or fraudulent activities of our partners, contract counterparties, employees or customers. We have policies and procedures in place to protect our reputation and promote ethical conduct, but these policies and procedures may not be fully effective to address reputational threats in all circumstances. Negative publicity regarding our business, employees, partners, contracting counterparties, employees or customers, with or without merit, may result in the loss of customers, investors and employees, costly litigation, a decline in revenues and increased governmental scrutiny and regulation.
The ongoing design and maintenance of data and related internal controls over financial reporting related to Current Expected Credit Losses ("CECL") will require a significant amount of time and resources which may have a material impact on our results of operations.
CECL has increased the amount of data and assumptions we need to collect and review to determine the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses. A significant amount of time and resources has been spent and will continue to be spent in order to implement and maintain CECL effectively, including the design and implementation of related adequate internal controls, which may adversely affect our results of operations. If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting relating to CECL, our ability to report our financial condition and results of operations accurately and on a timely basis could also be adversely affected.
Consumer protection initiatives related to the foreclosure process could materially affect our ability as a creditor to obtain remedies.
In 2011, Hawaii revised its rules for nonjudicial, or out-of-court, foreclosures. Prior to the revision, most lenders used the nonjudicial foreclosure method to handle foreclosures in Hawaii, as the process was less expensive and quicker than going through the court foreclosure process. After the revised rules went into effect, many lenders ended up forgoing nonjudicial foreclosures entirely and filing all foreclosures in court, which has created a backlog and slowed the judicial foreclosure process. Many lenders continue to exclusively use the judicial foreclosure process, making the foreclosure process very lengthy. Additionally, the joint federal-state settlement with several mortgage servicers over abuse of foreclosure practices creates further uncertainty for us and the mortgage servicing industry in general with respect to implementation of mortgage loan modifications and loss mitigation practices going forward. The manner in which these issues are ultimately resolved could impact our foreclosure procedures, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our deposit customers may pursue alternatives to deposits at our bank or seek higher yielding deposits causing us to incur increased funding costs.
Checking and savings account balances and other forms of deposits can decrease when our deposit customers perceive alternative investments, such as the stock market or other non-depository investments, as providing superior expected returns or seek to spread their deposits over several banks to maximize FDIC insurance coverage. Furthermore, technology and other changes have made it more convenient for the bank's customers to transfer funds into alternative investments including products offered by other financial institutions or non-bank service providers. Increases in short-term interest rates could increase transfers of deposits to higher yielding deposits. Efforts and initiatives we undertake to retain and increase deposits, including deposit pricing, can increase our costs. When the bank's customers move money out of bank deposits in favor of alternative investments or into higher yielding deposits, or spread their accounts over several banks, we can lose a relatively inexpensive source of funds, thus increasing our funding costs.
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The occurrence of fraudulent activity, data privacy breaches, failures of our information security controls or cybersecurity-related incidents could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
As a financial institution, we are susceptible to fraudulent activity, information security breaches and cybersecurity-related incidents that may be committed against us, our customers or our business partners (including by our own employees and consultants), which may result in financial losses or increased costs to us or, our customers or our business partners, disclosure or misuse of our information or our client information, misappropriation of assets, privacy breaches against our clients, litigation, or damage to our reputation. Such fraudulent activity may take many forms, including check fraud, electronic fraud, wire fraud, phishing, social engineering and other dishonest acts. Information security breaches and cybersecurity-related incidents may include fraudulent or unauthorized access to systems used by us, our vendors, or our clients, denial or degradation of service attacks, and malware or other cyber-attacks. In recent periods, there continues to be a rise in electronic fraudulent activity, security breaches and cyber-attacks within the financial services industry, especially in the commercial banking sector due to cyber criminals targeting commercial bank accounts. Consistent with industry trends, we have also experienced an increase in attempted electronic fraudulent activity, security breaches and cybersecurity-related incidents in recent periods. Moreover, in recent periods, several large corporations, including financial institutions and retail companies, have suffered major data breaches, in some cases exposing not only confidential and proprietary corporate information, but also sensitive financial and other personal information of their customers and employees and subjecting them to potential fraudulent activity. Some of our clients may have been affected by these breaches, which increase their risks of identity theft, credit card fraud and other fraudulent activity that could involve their accounts with us.
Information pertaining to us and our clients is maintained, and transactions are executed, on the networks and systems of us, our clients and certain of our third-party partners, such as our online banking or reporting systems. The secure maintenance and transmission of confidential information, as well as execution of transactions over these systems, are essential to protect us and our clients against fraud and security breaches and to maintain our clients' confidence. Breaches of information security also may occur, and in infrequent cases have occurred, through intentional or unintentional acts by those having access to our systems or our clients' or counterparties' confidential information, including employees. In addition, increases in criminal activity levels and sophistication, advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries, vulnerabilities in third-party technologies (including browsers and operating systems) or other developments could result in a compromise or breach of the technology, processes and controls that we use to prevent fraudulent transactions and to protect data about us, our clients and underlying transactions, as well as the technology used by our clients to access our systems. Although we have developed, and continue to invest in, systems and processes that are designed to detect and prevent data security breaches and cyber-attacks and periodically test our security, we may fail to anticipate or adequately mitigate breaches of security or experience data privacy breaches that could result in: losses to us or our clients; our loss of business and/or clients; damage to our reputation; the incurrence of additional expenses; disruption to our business; our inability to grow our online services or other businesses; additional regulatory scrutiny or penalties, including resulting violations of law (whether federal or one or more various states); or our exposure to civil litigation and possible financial liability — any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
More generally, publicized information concerning security and cyber-related problems and other data privacy breaches could inhibit the use or growth of digital or web-based applications or solutions as a means of conducting commercial transactions. Such publicity may also cause damage to our reputation as a financial institution. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures could adversely affect our ability to report our financial condition and results of operations accurately and on a timely basis.
A failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures could adversely affect our ability to report our financial results accurately and on a timely basis, which could result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reporting or adversely affect our access to sources of liquidity. Furthermore, because of the inherent limitations of any system of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls and fraud, even effective internal controls may not prevent or detect all misstatements. Frequent or rapid changes in procedures, methodologies, systems, personnel and technology exacerbate the challenge of developing and maintaining a system of internal controls and can increase the cost and level of effort to develop and maintain such systems.
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Changes in our accounting policies or in accounting standards could materially affect how we report our financial results and condition.
Periodically the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") and the SEC change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. As a result of changes to financial accounting or reporting standards, whether promulgated or required by the FASB or other regulators, we could be required to change certain of the assumptions or estimates we have previously used in preparing our financial statements, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. See Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Consolidated Financial Statements under "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
Financial services companies depend on the accuracy and completeness of information about customers and counterparties.
In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions, we may rely on information furnished by or on behalf of customers and counterparties, including financial statements, credit reports and other financial information. We may also rely on representations of those customers, counterparties or other third parties, such as independent auditors, as to the accuracy and completeness of that information. Reliance on inaccurate or misleading financial statements, credit reports or other financial information could have a material adverse impact on our business and, in turn, our financial condition and results of operations.
We operate in a highly competitive industry and market area.
We face substantial competition in all areas of our operations from a variety of different competitors, many of which are larger and may have more financial resources. Such competitors primarily include national, regional and community banks within the various markets we operate. Additionally, various out of state banks conduct business in the market areas in which we currently operate. We also face competition from many other types of financial institutions, including, without limitation, savings banks, credit unions, finance companies, financial service providers, including mortgage providers and brokers, operating via the internet and other technology platforms, brokerage firms, insurance companies, factoring companies and other financial intermediaries.
The financial services industry could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory and technological changes and continued consolidation. Banks, securities firms and insurance companies can merge under the umbrella of a financial holding company, which can offer virtually any type of financial service, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both agency and underwriting) and merchant banking. Also, technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks, such as automatic transfer and automatic payment systems. Many of our competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and may have lower cost structures. Additionally, due to their size, many competitors may be able to achieve economies of scale and, as a result, may offer a broader range of products and services as well as better pricing for those products and services than we can.
Our ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including, among other things:
•the ability to develop, maintain and build upon long-term customer relationships based on top quality service, high ethical standards and safe, sound assets;
•the ability to expand our market position;
•the scope, relevance and pricing of products and services offered to meet customer needs and demands;
•the rate at which we introduce new products and services relative to our competitors;
•customer satisfaction with our level of service; and
•industry and general economic trends.
Failure to perform in any of these areas could significantly weaken our competitive position, which could adversely affect our growth and profitability, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, the soundness of our financial condition may also affect our competitiveness. Customers may decide not to do business with the bank due to its financial condition.
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We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with our bank branches and any real estate collateral we acquire upon foreclosure.
During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing certain loans that we have originated or acquired. We also own several of our branch locations. For any real property that we may possess, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous or toxic substances are found, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage and costs of complying with applicable environmental regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with such requirements can result in penalties. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses and may materially reduce the affected property's value or limit our ability to use, sell or lease the affected property. In addition, future laws or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws may increase our exposure to environmental liability. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our business could be adversely affected by unfavorable actions from rating agencies.
Ratings assigned by ratings agencies to us, our affiliates or our securities may impact the decision of certain customers, in particular, institutions, to do business with us. A rating downgrade or a negative rating could adversely affect our deposits,our ability to access the capital markets on favorable terms and our business relationships.
Risks Related to Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Matters
Governmental regulation and regulatory actions against us may impair our operations or restrict our growth.
As a regulated financial institution, we are subject to significant governmental supervision and regulation. These regulations affect our lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, dividend policy and growth, among other things. Statutes and regulations affecting our business may be changed at any time and the interpretation of these statutes and regulations by examining authorities may also change. In addition, regulations may be adopted which increase expenses associated with running our business and adversely affect our earnings.
There can be no assurance that such statutes and regulations, any changes thereto or to their interpretation will not adversely affect our business. In particular, these statutes and regulations, and any changes thereto, could subject us to additional costs (including legal and compliance costs), limit the types of financial services and products we may offer and/or increase the ability of non-banks to offer competing financial services and products, among other things. In addition to governmental supervision and regulation, we are subject to changes in other federal and state laws, including changes in tax laws, which could materially affect us and the banking industry generally. We are subject to the rules and regulations of the FRB, the FDIC and the DFI, and certain rules and regulations promulgated by the CFPB. In addition, we are subject to the rules and regulation of the NYSE and the SEC and are subject to enforcement actions and other punitive actions by these agencies. If we fail to comply with federal and state regulations, the regulators may limit our activities or growth, impose fines on us or in the case of our bank regulators, ultimately require our bank to cease its operations. Bank regulations can hinder our ability to compete with financial services companies that are not regulated in the same manner or are less regulated. Federal and state bank regulatory agencies regulate many aspects of our operations. These areas include:
•the capital that must be maintained;
•the kinds of activities that can be engaged in;
•the kinds and amounts of investments that can be made;
•the locations of offices;
•insurance of deposits and the premiums that we must pay for this insurance;
•procedures and policies we must adopt;
•conditions and restrictions on our executive compensation; and
•how much cash we must set aside as reserves for deposits.
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In addition, bank regulatory authorities may bring enforcement actions against banks and bank holding companies, including CPF and the bank, for unsafe or unsound practices in the conduct of their businesses or for violations of any law, rule or regulation. Enforcement actions against us, including any condition imposed in writing by the appropriate bank regulatory agency or any written agreement with the authority, could include a federal conservatorship or receivership for the bank, the issuance of additional orders that could be judicially enforced, the imposition of civil monetary penalties, the issuance of directives to enter into a strategic transaction, whether by merger or otherwise, with a third-party, the termination of insurance of deposits, the issuance of removal and prohibition orders against institution-affiliated parties, and the enforcement of such actions through injunctions or restraining orders. In addition, if we were to grow beyond $10 billion in assets, we would be subject to enhanced CFPB examination and our compliance costs would increase.
We face a risk of noncompliance and enforcement action with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.
The Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and other laws and regulations require financial institutions, among other duties, to institute and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and file suspicious activity and currency transaction reports as appropriate. The federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of those requirements and has engaged in coordinated enforcement efforts with the individual federal banking regulators, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service. We are also subject to increased scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If our policies, procedures and systems are deemed deficient, we would be subject to liability, including fines and regulatory actions, which may include restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory approvals to proceed with certain aspects of our business plan. Failure to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing could also have serious reputational consequences for us. Any of these results could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulatory capital standards impose enhanced capital adequacy requirements on us.
Increased regulatory capital requirements (and the associated compliance costs), which have been adopted by federal banking regulators, impose additional capital requirements on our business. The administration of existing capital adequacy laws as well as adoption of new laws and regulations relating to capital adequacy, or more expansive or aggressive interpretations of existing laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations and could substantially restrict our ability to pay dividends, repurchase any of our capital stock, or pay executive bonuses. In addition, increased regulatory capital requirements as well as our financial condition could require us to raise additional capital which would dilute our existing shareholders at the time of such capital issuance.
We are subject to various legal claims and litigation.
From time to time, customers, employees and others whom we do business with, or are regulated by, as well as our shareholders, can make claims and take legal action against us. Regardless of whether these claims and legal actions are founded or unfounded, if such claims and legal actions are not resolved in a manner favorable to us, they may result in significant financial liability and/or adversely affect the market perception of us and our products and services, as well as impact customer demand for our products and services. Any financial liability or reputational damage could have a material adverse effect on our business, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Even if these claims and legal actions do not result in a financial liability or reputational damage, defending these claims and actions have resulted in, and will continue to result in, increased legal and professional services costs, which adds to our noninterest expense and negatively impacts our operating results.
Risks Related to an Investment in the Company's Securities
The market price of our common stock could decline.
The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate widely as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. In addition, the stock market is subject to fluctuations in the share prices and trading volumes that affect the market prices of the shares of many companies. These broad market fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Among the factors that could affect our stock price are:
•failure to comply with all of the requirements of any governmental orders or agreements we may become subject to and the possibility of resulting action by the regulators;
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•deterioration of asset quality;
•the incurrence of losses;
•actual or anticipated quarterly fluctuations in our operating results and financial condition;
•changes in revenue or earnings/losses estimates or publication of research reports and recommendations by financial analysts;
•failure to meet analysts' revenue or earnings/losses estimates;
•speculation in the press or investment community;
•strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, changes in products or markets, or public offerings;
•additions or departures of key personnel;
•actions by institutional shareholders;
•fluctuations in the stock price and operating results of our competitors;
•future sales of other equity or debt securities, including our common stock;
•general market conditions and, in particular, developments related to market conditions for the financial services industry;
•proposed or adopted regulatory changes or developments;
•breaches in our security systems and loss of customer data;
•anticipated or pending investigations, proceedings or litigation that involve or affect us; or
•domestic and international economic factors unrelated to our performance.
The stock market generally may experience significant volatility. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate more than usual and cause significant price variations to occur. Accordingly, the common stock that you purchase may trade at a price lower than that at which they were purchased. Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent individual shareholders from being able to sell their shares when they want or at prices they find attractive.
A significant decline in our stock price could result in substantial losses for shareholders and could lead to costly and disruptive securities litigation.
Anti-takeover provisions in our restated articles of incorporation and bylaws and applicable federal and state law may limit the ability of another party to acquire us or a significant block of common stock, which could cause our stock price to decline.
Various provisions of our restated articles of incorporation and bylaws and certain other actions we have taken could delay or prevent a third-party from acquiring us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders. These include, among other things, the authorization to issue "blank check" preferred stock by action of the Board of Directors acting alone, thus without obtaining shareholder approval. In addition, applicable provisions of federal and state law require regulatory approval in connection with certain acquisitions of our common stock and super-majority voting provisions in connection with certain transactions. In particular, both federal and state law limit the acquisition of ownership of certain percentage thresholds of our common stock without providing prior notice to the regulatory agencies and obtaining prior regulatory approval or non-objection or being able to rely on an exemption from such acquisition. See the "Supervision and Regulation" section. We are also subject to the provisions of the Hawaii Control Share Acquisitions Act which prohibits the consummation of a “control share acquisition” (with threshold ranges starting at 10% and set at 10% intervals up to a majority) unless approved by our shareholders or otherwise exempt. Unless approved or otherwise exempt, for a period of one year after acquisition, the shares
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acquired by a person in a control share acquisition will be (i) denied voting rights, (ii) be nontransferable, and (iii) be subject to redemption at our option. Collectively, these provisions of our restated articles of incorporation and bylaws and applicable federal and state law may prevent a merger or acquisition that would be attractive to shareholders, limit the ability of another party to acquire a significant block of our common stock, and could limit the price investors would be willing to pay in the future for our common stock.
Our common stock is equity and therefore is subordinate to our subsidiaries' indebtedness and preferred stock.
Our common stock constitutes equity interests and does not constitute indebtedness. As such, common stock will rank junior to all current and future indebtedness and other non-equity claims on us with respect to assets available to satisfy claims against us, including in the event of our liquidation. We may, and the bank and our other subsidiaries may also, incur additional indebtedness from time to time and may increase our aggregate level of outstanding indebtedness. As of December 31, 2021, we had (i) $50.0 million in face amount of trust preferred securities outstanding and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon of $0.1 million and (ii) $55.0 million in principal amount of subordinated notes outstanding and accrued and unpaid interest thereon of $0.4 million. Additionally, holders of common stock are subject to the prior dividend and liquidation rights of any holders of our preferred stock that may be outstanding from time to time. The Board of Directors is authorized to cause us to issue additional classes or series of preferred stock without any action on the part of our stockholders. If we issue preferred shares in the future that have a preference over our common stock with respect to the payment of dividends or upon liquidation, or if we issue preferred shares with voting rights that dilute the voting power of the common stock, then the rights of holders of our common stock or the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected.
There is a limited trading market for our common stock and as a result, you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you pay for them at the time you otherwise may desire.
Although our common stock is listed for trading on the NYSE, the volume of trading in our common shares is lower than many other companies listed on the NYSE. A public trading market with depth, liquidity and orderliness depends on the presence in the market of willing buyers and sellers of our common shares at any given time. This presence depends on the individual decisions of investors and general economic and market conditions over which we have no control. As a result, you may not be able to resell your common stock at or above the price you pay or at the time(s) you otherwise may desire.
The soundness of other financial institutions could adversely affect us.
Our ability to engage in routine funding transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, one or more financial services institutions, or the financial services industry generally, have led to market-wide liquidity problems and could lead to losses or defaults by us or by other institutions. There is no assurance that any such losses would not materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
Our common stock is not insured and you could lose the value of your entire investment.
An investment in our common stock is not a deposit and is not insured against loss by the government or any governmental
agency.
Risks Related to Technology
We continually encounter technological change.
The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers and to reduce costs. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements. We may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers. In addition, there are a limited number of qualified persons in our local marketplace with the knowledge and experience required to effectively maintain our information technology systems and implement our technology initiatives. Failure to successfully attract and retain qualified personnel, or keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse impact on our business and, in turn, our financial condition and results of operations.
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General Risk Factors
We are dependent on key personnel and the loss of one or more of those key personnel may materially and adversely affect our prospects.
Competition for qualified employees and personnel in the banking industry is intense and there is a limited number of qualified persons with knowledge of, and experience in, the regional banking industry, especially in the Hawaii market. The process of recruiting personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our strategies is often lengthy. Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to attract and retain qualified management, loan origination, finance, administrative, marketing, and technical personnel, and upon the continued contributions of our management and personnel. In particular, our success has been and continues to be highly dependent upon the abilities of key executives, including our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, our Executive Vice Chair, our President and Chief Operating Officer, our Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and our other executive officers and certain other employees.
Natural disasters and other external events (including pandemic viruses or disease) could have a material adverse affect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our branch offices as well as a substantial majority of our loan portfolio is in the state of Hawaii. As a result, natural disasters and other severe weather occurrences such as tsunamis, volcanic eruptions (such as the recent eruption of Mount Kilauea), hurricanes and earthquakes and other adverse external events, including the effects of any pandemic viruses or diseases (such as the current COVID-19 pandemic), could have a significant effect on our ability to conduct our business and adversely affect the tourism and visitor industry in the state of Hawaii. Such events could affect the ability of our borrowers to repay their outstanding loans, impair the value of collateral securing our loans, cause significant property damage, result in loss of revenue, adversely impact our deposit base and/or cause us to incur additional expenses. Accordingly, the occurrence of any such natural disasters, severe weather events, or other occurrences over which we have no control could have a material adverse effect on our business, which, in turn, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We hold title to the land and building in which our Main branch office and headquarters, Hilo branch office, Kailua-Kona branch office, Pearl City branch office, Kaneohe branch office and certain operations offices are located. We also hold title to a portion of the land on which our operations center is located. The remaining portion of the land where our operations center is located is leased, as are all remaining branch and support office facilities. We also own four floors of a commercial office condominium in downtown Honolulu where certain bank training classes are held and residential mortgage sales and operations are located. In 2021, we acquired title to land in Kahului, Maui where the Company intends to build its new branch and regional office.
We occupy or hold leases for approximately 40 other properties including office space for our remaining branches. These leases expire on various dates through 2045 and generally contain renewal options for periods ranging from 5 to 15 years. For additional information relating to lease rental expense and commitments as of December 31, 2021, see Note 19 - Operating Leases to the Consolidated Financial Statements under "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Certain claims and lawsuits have been filed or are pending against us arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, all such matters are of a nature that, if disposed of unfavorably, would not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations or financial position. See Note 23 - Contingent Liabilities and Other Commitments to the Consolidated Financial Statements under "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "CPF." Set forth below is a line graph comparing the cumulative total stockholder return on the Company's common stock, based on the market price of the common stock and assuming reinvestment of dividends, with the Russell 2000 Index and the Standard and Poor's ("S&P") SmallCap 600 Commercial Bank Index for the five year period commencing December 31, 2016 and ending December 31, 2021. The graph assumes the investment of $100 on December 31, 2016.
Indexed Total Annual Return
(as of December 31, 2021)
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Index | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Pacific Financial Corp. | $ | 100.00 | $ | 97.12 | $ | 81.59 | $ | 102.29 | $ | 69.05 | $ | 106.19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Russell 2000 Index | 100.00 | 114.65 | 102.02 | 128.06 | 153.62 | 176.39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 600 Banks Index | 100.00 | 97.80 | 88.16 | 106.30 | 93.49 | 126.90 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As of February 5, 2022, there were 3,089 shareholders of record, excluding individuals and institutions for which shares were held in the names of nominees and brokerage firms.
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Dividends
Dividends are payable at the discretion of the Board of Directors and there can be no assurance that the Board of Directors will continue to pay dividends at the same rate, or at all, in the future. Our ability to pay cash dividends to our shareholders is subject to restrictions under federal and Hawaii law, including restrictions imposed by the FRB and covenants set forth in various agreements we are a party to, including covenants set forth in trust preferred securities and subordinated notes.
Under the terms of our trust preferred securities and subordinated notes, our ability to pay dividends with respect to common stock would be restricted if our obligations under our trust preferred securities and subordinated notes were not current. Our obligations on our outstanding trust preferred securities and subordinated notes are current as of December 31, 2021.
Additionally, our ability to pay dividends depends on our ability to obtain dividends from our bank. As a Hawaii state-chartered bank, the bank may only pay dividends to the extent it has retained earnings as defined under Hawaii banking law ("Statutory Retained Earnings"), which differs from GAAP retained earnings. As of December 31, 2021, the bank had Statutory Retained Earnings of $114.0 million. In addition, the bank's regulators could impose limitations or conditions on the bank's ability to pay dividends to the Company.
See "Part I, Item 1. Business — Supervision and Regulation — Regulatory Actions" for a discussion on regulatory restrictions.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
In March 2020, the Company decided to suspend its share repurchase program due to the economic uncertainty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 26, 2021, the Company's Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase authorization of up to $25 million of its common stock (the "2021 Repurchase Plan"). The Company resumed repurchases during the second quarter of 2021. During the second and third quarters of 2021, the Company repurchased 391,300 shares of common stock at a cost of $10.2 million. During the fourth quarter of 2021, we repurchased 305,594 shares of common stock at a cost of $8.4 million. A total of $6.3 million remained available for repurchase under the 2021 Repurchase Plan at December 31, 2021. In January 2021, we announced a new $30 million repurchase program which replaces the 2021 Repurchase Plan.
| Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Programs | Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Program | Dollar Value of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Programs | Maximum Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Program | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 1-31 | 47,800 | $ | 26.29 | 47,800 | — | $ | 1,256,800 | $ | 13,521,540 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 1-30 | 154,694 | 28.15 | 154,694 | — | 4,355,047 | 9,166,493 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 1-31 | 103,100 | 27.50 | 103,100 | — | 2,835,526 | 6,330,967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 305,594 | 27.64 | 305,594 | — | $ | 8,447,373 | 6,330,967 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Information relating to compensation plans under which equity securities of the Registrant are authorized for issuance is set forth under "Part III, Item 12—Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters."
ITEM 6. RESERVED
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Introduction
We are a bank holding company that, through our banking subsidiary, Central Pacific Bank, offers full service commercial banking in the state of Hawaii.
We strive to provide exceptional customer service and products that meet our customers' needs. Our products and services consist primarily of the following:
•Loans: Our loans consist of commercial, financial and agricultural, commercial mortgage, and construction loans to small and medium-sized companies, business professionals, and real estate investors and developers, as well as residential mortgage, home equity and consumer loans to local homeowners and individuals. Our lending activities contribute to a key component of our revenues reported in interest income.
•Deposits: We offer a full range of deposit products and services including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management, and digital banking services. We also maintain a broad branch and ATM network in the state of Hawaii. The interest paid on such deposits has a significant impact on our interest expense, an important factor in determining our earnings. In addition, fees and service charges on deposit accounts contribute to our revenues.
Additionally, we offer wealth management products and services, such as non-deposit investment products, annuities, insurance, investment management, asset custody and general consultation and planning services.
Executive Overview
In 2021, we believe we delivered strong financial performance for the Company despite the pandemic environment.
•We recorded net income of $79.9 million, or $2.83 per diluted common share in 2021, compared to $37.3 million, or $1.32 per diluted common share in 2020.
•We recorded return on average assets ("ROA") and return on average shareholders' equity ("ROE") ratios of 1.13% and 14.38%, respectively, in 2021, compared to ROA and ROE ratios of 0.58% and 6.85%, respectively, in 2020.
•Asset quality remains strong as our nonperforming assets totaled $5.9 million, or 0.08% of total assets at December 31, 2021, compared to $6.2 million, or 0.09% of total assets at December 31, 2020.
•We realized strong core loan growth of $462.6 million, or 10.2% (excluding Small Business Administration ("SBA") Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans), or total loan growth of $137.5 million, or 2.8% (including PPP loans), as well as strong core deposit growth of $1.02 billion, or 19.9% in 2021.
•Our capital position and consistent profitability allowed us to increase our regular cash dividends paid from $0.92 per share in 2020 to $0.96 per share in 2021. In addition, we repurchased 696,894 shares of common stock under our share repurchase program for $18.7 million, or an average of $26.79 per share.
RISE2020
Commencing in the second quarter of 2019, the Company launched RISE2020, a multifaceted initiative intended to enhance customer experience, drive stronger long-term growth and profitability, improve shareholder returns and lower our efficiency ratio. RISE2020 included initiatives in the following key areas of opportunity: Digital Banking, Revenue Enhancements, Branch Transformation and Operational Excellence. RISE2020 was intended to provide Central Pacific Bank with premier products and services in several strategic areas.
During 2019, the outsourcing of the Company's residential mortgage loan servicing, the launch of its new website under the cpb.bank domain name and the implementation of its end-to-end commercial loan origination system was completed. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company opened its concept branch, providing its customers a glimpse into the future of Central Pacific Bank. After significant development, the Company's new online and mobile banking platforms for its retail customers launched in August 2020. The rollout of newly upgraded ATMs was completed in the fourth quarter of 2020. Despite several
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challenges resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company completed its RISE2020 initiative culminating with the grand opening of the fully renovated Central Pacific Plaza headquarters building and flagship main branch, and the launch of a new brand design in early January 2021. Following the completion, we continue to monitor and further enhance our facilities, platforms and processes that were part of the RISE2020 initiative.
Banking-as-a-Service ("BaaS") Initiative
In January 2022, the Company announced the launch of a new BaaS initiative with the goal of expanding the Company both in and beyond Hawaii by investing in or collaborating with leading fintech companies. The BaaS initiative is being developed based on the successful product development and launch strategies used in the Company's new Shaka digital product. Shaka, Hawaii’s first all-digital checking account, was launched with a VIP waitlist campaign and a large social media influencer campaign. As of February 18, 2022, over 3,500 Shaka accounts have been opened since the product launch on November 8, 2021.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2022, the Company will continue its BaaS initiatives with an equity investment in Swell Financial, Inc. ("Swell"), a new fintech company. Swell plans to launch a consumer banking app that combines checking, credit and more into one integrated account, and Central Pacific Bank will serve as the bank sponsor. There will also be a collaboration between the Company, Swell and Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT), a leading provider of digital lending solutions. Swell is scheduled to launch its first product in mid-2022, which is all-digital and available for consumers across most of the U.S. Mainland.
Basis of Presentation
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements under "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
COVID-19 Pandemic
The ongoing novel coronavirus disease ("COVID-19") pandemic caused significant disruption in the local, national and global economies and financial markets in 2020. While the economy now appears to be on a track for recovery and most COVID-19 related restrictions have been lifted, continuation and worsening of COVID-19 could cause reductions in business activity and financial transactions, labor shortages, supply chain interruptions and overall economic and financial market instability.
In response to the anticipated economic effects of COVID-19, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "FRB") has taken a number of actions that have significantly affected the financial markets in the United States, including actions intended to result in substantial decreases in market interest rates. While interest rates have remained low, inflation has significantly increased. We expect future increases in interest rates to moderate inflation which in effect may adversely impact the Company's loan origination and sales and pressure funding costs. Changes in market interest rates, which we do not control or have little to no influence over, affect our net interest income, margins and profitability. Therefore, we control the composition of our financial assets and liabilities with asset repricing options and maintain models that monitor those positions and sensitivity of our interest rate risk to best mitigate the adverse effects of the changing interest rate environment.
Our operations, like those of other financial institutions that operate in our market, are significantly influenced by economic conditions in Hawaii, including the strength of the real estate market and the tourism industry. Hawaii's economy which was significantly impacted by COVID-19, appears to be on track for recovery. Most of the government imposed restrictions have been loosened, and the tourism industry has started to rebound. While like the rest of the nation, the state of Hawaii experienced a rise in COVID-19 cases related to the Delta and Omicron variants, the recent cases have been less severe. Large scale shutdowns like those that occurred in 2020 are unlikely as the majority of the population is now vaccinated and it is anticipated that we will shift from a pandemic to an endemic as society learns to live with the virus. As of February 2, 2022 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported there were 224,257 cumulative cases (7-day moving average of 1,463 new infections and 10.3% positivity rate) and 1,204 COVID-19-related deaths in Hawaii. As of February 2, 2022, 75.0% of Hawaii's population has been fully vaccinated.
The state of Hawaii has successfully run its ‘Safe Travels’ program since July 2021, which allows travelers who were fully vaccinated in the United States or its territories to enter Hawaii on domestic flights without pretravel testing/quarantine starting the 15th day after the completion of their vaccination. Visitor arrivals greatly increased in the summer of 2021 with the daily average exceeding 30,000 per day in July 2021, or approximately 90% of pre-pandemic levels. However, in August 2021, similar to many other states, Hawaii experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant. To mitigate further spread and due to concerns over hospital capacity, Governor Ige asked that only essential travel to Hawaii occur which resulted in a decline to approximately 20,000 per day in September 2021. Governor Ige welcomed back vaccinated visitors in November
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2021. Travel picked up during the holidays in December 2021 and visitors averaged approximately 27,000 per day. In January 2022, visitors were approximately 23,000 per day. In response to the Omicron variant, certain foreign travel restrictions have been imposed which will delay the return of international visitors, and the full impacts in Hawaii remain uncertain.
Hawaii's unemployment rate decreased to 5.7% during the month of December 2021 and is significantly down from its peak of 21.9% in April and May of 2020.
Financial position and results of operations
Through guidance from regulatory agencies, the Company prudently worked with its borrowers impacted by COVID-19 to defer payments, interest, and fees. Loans on active payment forbearance or deferrals granted to borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic peaked at $605 million in May 2020. Since then nearly all borrowers who received payment forbearance or deferral have resumed payments. As of December 31, 2021, $0.4 million, or 0.01% of the total loan portfolio, remained on payment deferral.
During the third quarter of 2020, the Company recorded a reserve on the accrued interest receivable for loans on active forbearance or deferral totaling $0.2 million. Due to the significant decline in loans on active forbearance or deferral, the Company reversed the $0.2 million reserve during the second quarter of 2021 and no longer has a reserve on accrued interest receivable as of December 31, 2021.
To support our customers during the onset of the pandemic, the Company temporarily waived non-CPB ATM fees and early withdrawal fees on our time deposits and granted temporary increases on debit card and mobile deposit transaction limits throughout the second quarter of 2020. Beginning July 1, 2020, we reinstated these fees that were waived throughout the previous quarter, but the temporary increases on debit card and mobile deposit transaction limits remain in place.
Liquidity and capital
Through our past experience during the Great Recession in the late 2000s, we believe we have developed robust liquidity and capital stress tests and comprehensive liquidity and capital contingency plans. We further believe our liquidity and capital positions are strong. The Company maintains access to multiple sources of liquidity and wholesale funding markets have remained open. During 2020 and 2021, we experienced a significant inflow of deposits due to government stimulus and general market uncertainty; however, this may not continue.
To further strengthen its capital position, the Company issued $55.0 million in subordinated debt in October 2020 which is classified as tier 2 capital for regulatory purposes, and down-streamed $46.8 million of the net proceeds from our offering to the bank, which qualifies as tier 1 capital for regulatory purchases for the bank.
In March 2020, we decided to suspend our share repurchase program in light of the pandemic. In January 2021, our Board of Directors approved a new authorization to repurchase up to $25 million in common stock. In 2021, the Company repurchased 696,894 shares of common stock under our share repurchase program for $18.7 million, or an average of $26.79 per share.
During the second and third quarters of 2021, the Company repurchased 391,300 shares of common stock for $10.2 million and recorded $6.5 million against common stock and $3.7 million against retained earnings. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company elected to apply the total cost of all shares repurchased in 2021 and going forward as a reduction to common stock. This resulted in a $3.7 million reclassification adjustment to increase retained earnings and a corresponding $3.7 million decrease in common stock during the fourth quarter of 2021 related to the repurchases completed in the second and third quarters of 2021. This reclassification adjustment did not impact net income, our consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income and cash flows, or any of the Company's financial ratios.
Asset valuation
COVID-19 has not affected the Company’s ability to account timely for the assets on its balance sheet. The Company has also not made significant changes in the methodology used to determine the fair value of assets measured in accordance with GAAP, except for updating certain valuation assumptions to account for pandemic-related circumstances such as widening credit spreads.
The Company has a significant real estate loan portfolio. Thus far, Hawaii real estate market continues to be extremely strong and real estate collateral values have remained relatively stable, but we cannot be assured this will continue.
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Processes, controls and business continuity plan
The Company's Business Continuity Plan includes a Pandemic Preparedness Plan which it successfully activated in early March 2020. The Company’s remote workforce plan has been rolled out with an overall smooth transition. The Company already had Virtual Private Network ("VPN") technology capability, and during the first quarter of 2020, expanded VPN access to over 70% of its employees. In addition to VPN, the Company believes it is well-setup with the latest technologies that enable our operations to continue efficiently. The Company is using collaboration tools and several other cloud-based software programs. For its customers, during the third quarter of 2020 the Company launched its premier digital banking platform which is one of the key initiatives and milestones in its RISE2020 initiative.
The Company deployed a remote workforce plan at the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and has been able to continue operations without disruption as well as maintain its systems and internal controls in light of the measures the Company has taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Company is developing a gradual, phased-in return-to-office plan that includes a portion of the workforce continuing with flexible, remote work schedules. In September 2021, the Company implemented required weekly COVID testing for the small portion of its workforce that remained unvaccinated. Over 95% of the Company’s employees are fully vaccinated as of December 31, 2021.
Lending operations and accommodations to borrowers
To support its customers during the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the Company moved quickly to put in place a number of COVID-19 relief programs for its consumer and business customers affected by the pandemic. For its customers, the Company offered an employment disruption loan as well as consumer, commercial, commercial mortgage, and residential mortgage payment deferral programs. In addition, we waived non-CPB ATM fees and early withdrawal fees on our time deposits throughout the second quarter of 2020 and increased spending cap limits on debit cards and mobile deposit limits to $10,000 daily. Beginning July 1, 2020, the previously waived fees were reinstated but the increased spending cap limits will remain in place temporarily.
The bank is a SBA approved lender and actively participated in assisting customers with loan applications for the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, which was part of the CARES Act. PPP loans have a two or five-year term and earn interest at 1%. The SBA pays the originating bank a processing fee ranging from 1% to 5%, based on the size of the loan, which the Company is recognizing over the life of the loan. The Company saw tremendous interest in the PPP. With the significant increase in volume of PPP loan requests, the Company redeployed staff to handle and assist with loan processing. Additionally, the Company brought on some outside resources to assist with the PPP.
The SBA began accepting submissions for the initial round of PPP loans on April 3, 2020. In April 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act added an additional round of funding for the PPP. In June 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was enacted, which among other things, gave borrowers additional time and flexibility to use PPP loan proceeds. Through the end of the second round in August 2020, the Company funded over 7,200 PPP loans totaling $558.9 million and received gross processing fees of $21.2 million.
In December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was passed which among other things, included a third round of funding and a new simplified forgiveness procedure for PPP loans of $150,000 or less. During 2021, the Company funded over 4,600 loans totaling $320.9 million in the third round, which ended on May 31, 2021, and received additional gross processing fees of $18.4 million.
The Company has developed a PPP forgiveness portal and, with assistance from a third party vendor, has assisted its customers with applying for forgiveness from the SBA. We have received forgiveness payments and repayments from borrowers totaling $784.9 million as of December 31, 2021. A total outstanding balance of $94.9 million and net deferred fees of $3.5 million remain as of December 31, 2021. Although the Company believes that the majority of the remaining loans will ultimately be forgiven by the SBA in accordance with the terms of the program, there could be risks and liabilities by the Company that cannot be determined at this time.
The Company had previously become aware of two PPP loans that it originated for $10.0 million and $3.0 million, in which they were under investigation for borrower fraud and/or misrepresentations. The $10.0 million PPP loan was fully repaid for all principal and interest outstanding by the SBA in the third quarter of 2021 under their 100% guarantee. The $3.0 million loan was partially forgiven by the SBA, and the remaining principal balance on the loan totaled $0.3 million at December 31, 2021.
The Company provided initial three-month principal and interest payment forbearance for our residential mortgage customers, and three-month principal and interest payment deferrals for our consumer customers. Both residential mortgage and consumer customers were granted extensions to their forbearance or deferral, if needed. The Company was deferring either the full loan
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payment or the principal component of the loan payment for generally three to six months for its commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loan customers on a case-by-case basis depending on need. Nearly all of loans that were granted forbearance or deferral have returned to payment. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had loan payment forbearance or deferrals on outstanding balances of $0.4 million, or 0.01% of total loans.
In accordance with the revised interagency guidance issued in April 2020 and Section 4013 of the CARES Act, banks are provided an option to elect to not account for certain loan modifications related to COVID-19 as TDRs as long as the borrowers were not more than 30 days past due as of February 29, 2020 (time of modification program implementation) and December 31, 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, there were no loans with modifications that did not meet the criteria under Section 4013 of CARES Act or the "Interagency Statement on Loan Modifications and Reporting for Financial Institutions Working with Customers Affected by the Coronavirus (Revised)".
During the third quarter of 2020, the Company recorded a reserve on the accrued interest receivable of loans on active forbearance or deferral totaling $0.2 million, with the offset recorded to provision for credit losses. This reserve balance was reversed during the second quarter of 2021 due to the significant decline in loans on active forbearance or deferral. The Company no longer has a reserve on accrued interest receivable as of December 31, 2021.
Credit
In March 2020, the Company reviewed its entire commercial loan portfolio and actively reached out to its customers to determine the initial impact, if any, of COVID-19 on their businesses. The review continued throughout the remainder of 2020. The Company proactively worked with many of its customers in providing loan payment deferrals as well as assisted in the application and approval of PPP loans.
The volume of loan payment deferrals granted peaked in May 2020 at approximately $605 million in total loan balances, and has since declined to $0.4 million, or 0.01% of total loans, at December 31, 2021. Most borrowers have resumed payments with the total count on active deferral dropping from a peak of 467 at May 31, 2020 to 36 at December 31, 2021. The Company is providing alternative payment plans on a limited basis following the end of the payment deferral period. Our consumer loan payment deferrals totaled $0.4 million at December 31, 2021, compared to $2.3 million at December 31, 2020. There were no residential mortgage loans on active payment forbearance at December 31, 2021, compared to $70.4 million at December 31, 2020. There were no commercial, commercial real estate and construction loan portfolio loans on active payment deferral at December 31, 2021, compared to $47.5 million at December 31, 2020.
Criticized loans at December 31, 2021 decreased by $116.3 million from the previous year to $76.0 million, or 1.5% of the total loan portfolio excluding PPP loans. Special mention loans decreased by $110.8 million to $31.7 million, or 0.6% of the total loan portfolio excluding PPP loans. Classified loans decreased by $5.5 million to $44.3 million, or 0.9% of the total loan portfolio excluding PPP loans.
The Company believes that the residential, home equity and commercial real estate and construction loan portfolios are lower risk. These loans comprise of $3.86 billion or 77.0% of our total loan portfolio, net of PPP loans. Overall, the Company's loan portfolio remains well diversified.
Business Environment
The majority of our operations are concentrated in the state of Hawaii. As a result, our performance is significantly influenced by strength of the real estate markets, the tourism industry and economic environment in Hawaii. Macroeconomic conditions also influence our performance. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by expanding gross state product, low unemployment and rising personal income; while an unfavorable business environment is characterized by the reverse.
Following the solid performances of our leading economic indicators in 2019, Hawaii's economy was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Hawaii's visitor industry continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, however the state is making progress towards economic recovery as travel restrictions have started to loosen. Starting July 2021, passengers arriving from out-of-state could bypass the State’s mandatory 10-day self-quarantine if they were fully vaccinated in the United States or with a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT test result from a Trusted Testing Partner prior to their departure through the Safe Travels program.
According to preliminary year-end statistics from the Hawaii Tourism Authority ("HTA"), approximately 6.8 million total visitors arrived in the state in the year ended December 31, 2021. This was an increase approximately 150.3% from the 2.7 million visitor arrivals in the year ended December 31, 2020, but a decline of approximately 34.7% from the pre-pandemic and record year in 2019. The HTA also reported that total spending by visitors was $13.0 billion in the year ended December 31,
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2021 (total spending statistics for 2020 were not available), which declined by approximately 26.6% from the pre-pandemic and record year in 2019. According to a recent report by The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii ("UHERO"), total visitor arrivals is expected to increase to approximately 8.3 million in 2022 and visitor spending is expected to increase to approximately $16.5 billion in 2022.
The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported that Hawaii's seasonally adjusted annual unemployment rate 5.7% in the month of December 2021, The unemployment rate of 5.7% in December 2021 continues to decline from the high of 21.9% in the months of April and May 2020, but remains above the national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.9%. UHERO projects Hawaii's seasonally adjusted annual unemployment rate to be around 5.4% in 2022.
Hawaii's economy is measured by the growth of real personal income and real gross state product. The State of Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism ("DBEDT") is expected to report real personal income grew by approximately 0.1% and real gross state product grew by approximately 3.9% for 2021. DBEDT projects real personal income to decline by 3.2% and real gross state product to increase by 3.0% for 2022.
Real estate lending is a primary focus for us, including residential mortgage and commercial mortgage loans. As a result, we are dependent on the strength of Hawaii's real estate market. 2021 was a record year for the Oahu real estate market. According to the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the median resale price for a single-family on Oahu exceeded $1 million during the months of August to December 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the median price for a single-family home on Oahu was $990,000, representing an increase of 19.3% from the median resale price of $830,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The median resale price for condominiums on Oahu was $475,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021, representing an increase of 9.2% from the median resale price of $435,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. Oahu unit sales volume increased by 17.9% for single-family homes, and increased by 53.1% for condominiums in 2021 from 2020.
As we have seen in the past, our operating results are significantly impacted by the economy in Hawaii and the composition of our loan portfolio. Loan demand, deposit growth, provision for credit losses, asset quality, noninterest income and noninterest expense are all affected by changes in economic conditions. If the residential and commercial real estate markets we have exposure to deteriorate our results of operations would be negatively impacted. See the "Overview of Results of Operations—Concentrations of Credit Risk" section for a further discussion on how a deteriorating real estate market, combined with the elevated concentration risk within our portfolio, could have a significant negative impact on our asset quality and credit losses.
In an attempt to help the overall economy, the FRB has kept interest rates low through its targeted Fed Funds rate. On March 3, 2020, the Federal Reserve reduced the Federal Funds range by 50 basis points to 1.00% to 1.25%. On March 15, 2020, the Federal Reserve further reduced the Federal Funds range by 100 basis points to 0% to 0.25% and announced a $700 billion quantitative easing program in response to the expected economic downturn caused by COVID-19. During the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021, the Federal Reserve elected to hold the Federal Funds rate at 0% to 0.25%. Officials expect rates to increase beginning in 2022 due to increased inflation risks.
Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence, among other things, (i) the amount of interest we receive on loans and securities, (ii) the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, (iii) our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits, and (iv) the fair value of our assets and liabilities.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") requires that management make a number of judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expense in the financial statements and the related disclosures made. Various elements of our accounting policies, by their nature, involve the application of highly sensitive and judgmental estimates and assumptions. Some of these policies and estimates relate to matters that are highly complex and contain substantial inherent uncertainties. Actual amounts and values as of the balance sheet dates may be materially different than the amounts and values reported due to the inherent uncertainty in the estimation process. Also, future amounts and values could differ materially from those estimates due to changes in values and circumstances after the balance sheet date.
Accounting estimates are deemed critical when a different estimate could have reasonably been used or where changes in the estimate are reasonably likely to occur from period to period and would materially impact our consolidated financial statements as of or for the periods presented. Management has discussed the development and selection of the critical accounting policy and estimates noted below with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, and the Audit Committee has reviewed the accompanying disclosures.
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The Company identified a significant accounting policy which involves a higher degree of judgment and complexity in making certain estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements. At December 31, 2021, the significant accounting policy which we believed to be the most critical in preparing our consolidated financial statements is the determination of the allowance for credit losses. This is further described in Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements in this report.
On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which created material changes to the Company’s existing critical accounting policy that existed at December 31, 2019. Effective January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021, the significant accounting policy which we believe to be the most critical in preparing our consolidated financial statements is the determination of the allowance for credit losses on loans.
Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans
Management considers the policies related to the allowance for credit losses ("ACL") on loans as the most critical to the financial statement presentation. The total ACL on loans includes activity related to allowances calculated in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 326, "Financial Instruments – Credit Losses". The ACL is established through provisioning of current expected credit losses as a charge to current earnings. Loan losses are charged off against the allowance when management believes the uncollectibility of a loan balance is confirmed while allowance is credited if subsequent recoveries are made. The amount maintained in the ACL reflects management’s continuing evaluation of the estimated credit losses expected to be recognized over the life of the loans in our loan portfolio at the balance sheet date. Allowance for credit losses is measured on a collective basis when similar risk characteristics exist. We stratify the loan portfolio into homogeneous groups of loans that possess similar loss potential characteristics and calculate the net amount expected to be collected over the life of the loans to estimate the expected credit losses in the loan portfolio. The Company’s methodologies for estimating the ACL consider available relevant information about the collectability of cash flows, including information about past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Refer to Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements in this report for further discussion of the risk factors considered by management in establishing the ACL.
Overview of Results of Operations
2021 vs. 2020 Comparison
In 2021, we recognized net income of $79.9 million, or fully diluted earnings per common share ("EPS") of $2.83, compared to net income of $37.3 million, or EPS of $1.32, in 2020. Our ROA and ROE for 2021 was 1.13% and 14.38%, respectively, compared to 0.58% and 6.85%, respectively, in 2020.
We recorded a credit to the provision for credit losses of $14.6 million in 2021, compared to a debit to the provision of $42.1 million in 2020. The credit to the provision for credit losses was driven by the improved economic forecast assumptions used in our credit reserve modeling, improvements in the loan portfolio and lower net charge-offs in 2021.
Net interest income increased by $13.4 million from 2020 to 2021, primarily driven by higher net interest income and fees on PPP loans, combined with lower deposit and borrowing costs due to the historically low interest rate environment, partially offset by lower yields earned on the loans and investment securities portfolios.
Other operating income decreased by $2.1 million from 2020 to 2021. The decrease in other operating income was primarily due to lower mortgage banking income, partially offset by higher ATM fees included in other service charges and fees. See Table 3 - Components of Other Operating Income for more information.
Other operating expense increased by $11.3 million from 2020 to 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher salaries and employee benefits, higher legal and professional services, higher advertising expense, and higher directors' deferred compensation plan expense. The higher salaries and employee benefits in 2021 is primarily attributable to strategic hirings for the Company's RISE2020 and BaaS initiatives, higher incentive compensation due to stronger Company performance,and non-recurring severance costs. See Table 4 - Components of Other Operating Expense for more information.
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2020 vs. 2019 Comparison
In 2020, we recognized net income of $37.3 million, or EPS of $1.32, compared to net income of $58.3 million, or EPS of $2.03, in 2019. Our ROA and ROE for 2020 was 0.58% and 6.85%, respectively, compared to 0.99% and 11.36%, respectively, in 2019.
We recorded a provision for credit losses of $42.1 million in 2020, compared to a credit of $6.3 million in 2019. The higher provision for credit losses was driven by the economic forecast which captured the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and led to the decline in net income, EPS, ROA and ROE in 2020 compared to 2019.
Net interest income increased by $13.6 million from 2019 to 2020, primarily driven by lower deposit and borrowing costs due to the historically low interest rate environment due to the pandemic environment, combined with net interest income and fees on PPP loans, partially offset by lower yields earned on the loans and investment securities portfolios.
Other operating income increased by $3.4 million from 2019 to 2020. The increase in other operating income was primarily due to higher mortgage banking income, partially offset by lower service charges on deposit accounts. In addition, the Company recorded a gain of $2.6 million during the first quarter of 2019 from the conversion of MasterCard Class B common stock received during their initial public offering to Class A common stock and immediate sale of the converted shares. See Table 3 - Components of Other Operating Income for more information.
Other operating expense increased by $10.1 million from 2019 to 2020. The increase in other operating expense was primarily due to higher salaries and employee benefits, higher computer software expenses, higher legal and professional expenses, branch consolidation costs, and higher advertising expense, partially offset by lower director deferred compensation plan expense and lower entertainment and promotions expense. See Table 4 - Components of Other Operating Expense for more information.
Net Interest Income
The following table sets forth information concerning average interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities and the yields and rates thereon. Net interest income, when expressed as a percentage of average interest-earning assets, is referred to as "net interest margin." Interest income, which includes loan fees and resultant yield information, is expressed on a taxable-equivalent basis using a federal statutory tax rate of 21%. Table 2 presents an analysis of changes in components of net interest income between years. For each category of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, information is provided on changes attributable to: (i) changes in volume and (ii) changes in rates. The change in volume is calculated as change in average balance, multiplied by prior period average yield/rate. The change in rate is calculated as change in average yield/rate, multiplied by current period volume. The change in interest income not solely due to change in volume or change in rate has been allocated proportionately to change in volume and change in average yield/rate.
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Table 1. Average Balances, Interest Income and Expense, Yields, and Rates (Taxable-Equivalent)
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | Average Balance | Average Yield/ Rate | Amount of Interest | Average Balance | Average Yield/ Rate | Amount of Interest | Average Balance | Average Yield/ Rate | Amount of Interest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-earning assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing deposits in other financial institutions | $ | 191,967 | 0.14 | % | $ | 262 | $ | 13,980 | 0.33 | % | $ | 46 | $ | 9,842 | 2.04 | % | $ | 201 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Investment securities, excluding valuation allowance: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxable (1) | 1,269,900 | 1.77 | 22,505 | 1,037,209 | 2.25 | 23,371 | 1,120,711 | 2.63 | 29,517 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tax-exempt (1) | 101,877 | 2.45 | 2,496 | 96,217 | 3.15 | 3,028 | 130,411 | 2.95 | 3,853 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total investment securities | 1,371,777 | 1.82 | 25,001 | 1,133,426 | 2.33 | 26,399 | 1,251,122 | 2.67 | 33,370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loans, incl. loans-held-for-sale (2) | 5,071,516 | 3.82 | 193,778 | 4,855,169 | 3.83 | 186,129 | 4,241,308 | 4.31 | 182,657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") stock | 7,933 | 3.09 | 245 | 12,591 | 3.81 | 480 | 16,369 | 5.89 | 964 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total interest-earning assets | 6,643,193 | 3.30 | 219,286 | 6,015,166 | 3.54 | 213,054 | 5,518,641 | 3.94 | 217,192 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Noninterest-earning assets | 434,832 | 403,495 | 369,974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 7,078,025 | $ | 6,418,661 | $ | 5,888,615 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities and Equity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing liabilities: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing demand deposits | $ | 1,300,022 | 0.03 | % | $ | 384 | $ | 1,078,589 | 0.05 | % | $ | 510 | $ | 984,298 | 0.08 | % | $ | 800 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Savings and money market deposits | 2,099,388 | 0.06 | 1,240 | 1,830,972 | 0.13 | 2,416 | 1,556,766 | 0.33 | 5,100 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time deposits up to $250,000 | 230,705 | 0.34 | 795 | 257,708 | 0.75 | 1,921 | 276,241 | 0.88 | 2,417 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time deposits over $250,000 | 551,831 | 0.22 | 1,197 | 696,650 | 0.80 | 5,568 | 792,493 | 1.97 | 15,627 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total interest-bearing deposits | 4,181,946 | 0.09 | 3,616 | 3,863,919 | 0.27 | 10,415 | 3,609,798 | 0.66 | 23,944 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FHLB advances and other short-term borrowings | 607 | 0.30 | 2 | 89,904 | 0.80 | 718 | 185,909 | 2.31 | 4,285 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt | 105,488 | 3.88 | 4,097 | 117,100 | 3.08 | 3,602 | 101,547 | 4.02 | 4,080 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total interest-bearing liabilities | 4,288,041 | 0.18 | 7,715 | 4,070,923 | 0.36 | 14,735 | 3,897,254 | 0.83 | 32,309 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Noninterest-bearing deposits | 2,117,423 | 1,691,958 | 1,375,903 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other liabilities | 116,936 | 111,859 | 101,848 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 6,522,400 | 5,874,740 | 5,375,005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholders' equity | 555,600 | 543,919 | 513,610 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-controlling interest | 25 | 2 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total equity | 555,625 | 543,921 | 513,610 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities and equity | $ | 7,078,025 | $ | 6,418,661 | $ | 5,888,615 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net interest income | $ | 211,571 | $ | 198,319 | $ | 184,883 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate spread | 3.12 | % | 3.18 | % | 3.11 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net interest margin | 3.18 | % | 3.30 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||