Note 23 - Preferred Stock	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Notes to Financial Statements
Preferred Stock [Text Block]	NOTE 23 - PREFERRED STOCK On May 24, 2022, the Company entered into a Letter Agreement (the "initial Agreement”) with the U.S. Department of Treasury under the Emergency Capital Investment Program (“ECIP”). Established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the ECIP was created to encourage low- and moderate-income community financial institutions and minority depository institutions to provide loans, grants, and forbearance for small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and consumers, especially low-income and underserved communities, including counties with persistent poverty, that may be disproportionately impacted by the economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing direct and indirect capital investments in low- and moderate-income community financial institutions. Pursuant to the initial Agreement, the Company agreed to issue and sell 82,949 shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $82.9 million in cash. This ECIP investment is treated as tier 1 capital. The Preferred Stock bears no dividend for the first 24 months following the investment date. Thereafter, the dividend rate will be adjusted, not higher than 2%, based on the lending growth criteria listed in the initial Agreement. After the tenth anniversary of the investment date, the dividend rate will be fixed based on the average annual amount of lending in years two through 10. Dividends will be payable quarterly in arrears on March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. The Preferred Stock may be redeemed at the option of the Company on or after the fifth anniversary of issuance (or earlier in the event of loss of regulatory capital treatment), subject to the approval of the appropriate federal banking regulator and in accordance with the federal banking agencies’ regulatory capital regulations. The Preferred Stock is reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as Senior Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series ECIP. On January 10, 2025, the Company entered into an ECIP Securities Purchase Option Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Treasury. Pursuant to the Agreement, Treasury granted the Company an option to purchase all of the Preferred Stock during the Option Period, which is the first fifteen years following the Original Closing Date. The purchase price for the Preferred Stock pursuant to the purchase option is determined based on a formula equal to the present value of the Preferred Stock, calculated as set forth in the Agreement, together with any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, as of the closing date. Subject to variations in interest rates and the equity risk premium, which are components included in the purchase price calculation, the Company presently expects that the purchase price will be at a substantial discount from the face value of the Preferred Stock. The purchase option may not be exercised during the ECIP period, which is the first ten years following the Original Closing Date unless and until at least one of the Threshold Conditions under the Agreement has been met. The Threshold Conditions are as follows: during the ten years that follow the Original Closing Date (the “ECIP Period”) either (1) over any sixteen consecutive quarters, an average of at least 60% of the Company’s Total Originations, as defined pursuant to the terms of the ECIP, qualifies as “Deep Impact Lending,” as defined pursuant to the terms of the ECIP (the “Deep Impact Condition”); (2) over any twenty-four consecutive quarters, an average of at least 85% of the Company’s Total Originations qualifies as “Qualified Lending,” as defined pursuant to the terms of the ECIP (the “Qualified Lending Condition”); or (3) the Preferred Stock has a dividend rate of no more than 0.5%, which dividend rate is calculated pursuant to the ECIP and the terms thereof, at each of six consecutive Reset Dates, as defined in the ECIP. The earliest possible date by which a Threshold Condition may be met is June 30, 2026, which is the end of the sixteenth consecutive quarter following the Original Closing Date. However, the Company does not currently meet any of the Threshold Conditions to exercise the purchase option, and there can be no assurance if and when the Threshold Conditions will be met. At present, the Company has reported no consecutive quarters for which it has met both the Deep Impact and Qualified Lending Conditions. The Preferred Stock currently has a dividend rate of 2.0%. In addition to the requirement that a Threshold Condition be met, the Agreement requires that the Company meet certain other eligibility conditions in order to exercise the purchase option in the future, including compliance with the terms of the original ECIP purchase agreement and the terms of the Preferred Stock, maintaining qualification as either a CDFI or an MDI, and meeting other legal and regulatory criteria. Although the Company currently meets the general eligibility criteria, other than satisfying one of the Threshold Conditions, there can be no assurance that the Company will meet such criteria in the future.

Note 23 - Preferred Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

NOTE 23 - PREFERRED STOCK

On May 24, 2022, the Company entered into a Letter Agreement (the "initial Agreement”) with the U.S. Department of Treasury under the Emergency Capital Investment Program (“ECIP”). Established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the ECIP was created to encourage low- and moderate-income community financial institutions and minority depository institutions to provide loans, grants, and forbearance for small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and consumers, especially low-income and underserved communities, including counties with persistent poverty, that may be disproportionately impacted by the economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing direct and indirect capital investments in low- and moderate-income community financial institutions.

Pursuant to the initial Agreement, the Company agreed to issue and sell 82,949 shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $82.9 million in cash. This ECIP investment is treated as tier 1 capital. The Preferred Stock bears no dividend for the first 24 months following the investment date. Thereafter, the dividend rate will be adjusted, not higher than 2%, based on the lending growth criteria listed in the initial Agreement. After the tenth anniversary of the investment date, the dividend rate will be fixed based on the average annual amount of lending in years two through 10. Dividends will be payable quarterly in arrears on March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15.

The Preferred Stock may be redeemed at the option of the Company on or after the fifth anniversary of issuance (or earlier in the event of loss of regulatory capital treatment), subject to the approval of the appropriate federal banking regulator and in accordance with the federal banking agencies’ regulatory capital regulations. The Preferred Stock is reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as Senior Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series ECIP.

On January 10, 2025, the Company entered into an ECIP Securities Purchase Option Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Treasury. Pursuant to the Agreement, Treasury granted the Company an option to purchase all of the Preferred Stock during the Option Period, which is the first fifteen years following the Original Closing Date. The purchase price for the Preferred Stock pursuant to the purchase option is determined based on a formula equal to the present value of the Preferred Stock, calculated as set forth in the Agreement, together with any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, as of the closing date. Subject to variations in interest rates and the equity risk premium, which are components included in the purchase price calculation, the Company presently expects that the purchase price will be at a substantial discount from the face value of the Preferred Stock.

The purchase option may not be exercised during the ECIP period, which is the first ten years following the Original Closing Date unless and until at least one of the Threshold Conditions under the Agreement has been met. The Threshold Conditions are as follows: during the ten years that follow the Original Closing Date (the “ECIP Period”) either (1) over any sixteen consecutive quarters, an average of at least 60% of the Company’s Total Originations, as defined pursuant to the terms of the ECIP, qualifies as “Deep Impact Lending,” as defined pursuant to the terms of the ECIP (the “Deep Impact Condition”); (2) over any twenty-four consecutive quarters, an average of at least 85% of the Company’s Total Originations qualifies as “Qualified Lending,” as defined pursuant to the terms of the ECIP (the “Qualified Lending Condition”); or (3) the Preferred Stock has a dividend rate of no more than 0.5%, which dividend rate is calculated pursuant to the ECIP and the terms thereof, at each of six consecutive Reset Dates, as defined in the ECIP.

The earliest possible date by which a Threshold Condition may be met is June 30, 2026, which is the end of the sixteenth consecutive quarter following the Original Closing Date. However, the Company does not currently meet any of the Threshold Conditions to exercise the purchase option, and there can be no assurance if and when the Threshold Conditions will be met. At present, the Company has reported no consecutive quarters for which it has met both the Deep Impact and Qualified Lending Conditions. The Preferred Stock currently has a dividend rate of 2.0%.

In addition to the requirement that a Threshold Condition be met, the Agreement requires that the Company meet certain other eligibility conditions in order to exercise the purchase option in the future, including compliance with the terms of the original ECIP purchase agreement and the terms of the Preferred Stock, maintaining qualification as either a CDFI or an MDI, and meeting other legal and regulatory criteria. Although the Company currently meets the general eligibility criteria, other than satisfying one of the Threshold Conditions, there can be no assurance that the Company will meet such criteria in the future.