Note 1 - Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]

1. Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Emclaire Financial Corp (the Corporation) is a Pennsylvania corporation and the holding company of The Farmers National Bank of Emlenton (the Bank). The Corporation provides a variety of financial services to individuals and businesses through its offices in western Pennsylvania. Its primary deposit products are checking, savings and term certificate accounts and its primary lending products are residential and commercial mortgages, commercial business loans and consumer loans.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary, the Bank. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in preparing the consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements for the interim periods include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, which are necessary, in the opinion of management, to fairly reflect the Corporation’s consolidated financial position and results of operations. Additionally, these consolidated financial statements for the interim periods have been prepared in accordance with instructions for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and therefore do not include all information or footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). For further information, refer to the audited consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2021, as contained in the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC.

The balance sheet at  December 31, 2021 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.

The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The results of operations for interim quarterly or year-to-date periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire year or any other period. Certain amounts previously reported may have been reclassified to conform to the current year’s financial statement presentation.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has adversely impacted and continues to impact certain industries in which the Corporation's clients operate and may have impaired their ability to fulfill their outstanding obligations due to continued financial distress. The spread of COVID-19 has caused unprecedented uncertainty, volatility and disruption in the U.S. and global economy at large.  The Corporation's business is dependent upon the willingness and ability of our employees and clients to conduct banking and other financial transactions. With the easing of restrictions during the latter part of 2020 and into 2021, and the availability and distribution of vaccines, the U.S. economy has slowly begun to improve as consumer and business spending has rebounded in recent months.  However, the lasting effects are uncertain as government aid programs and stimulus packages taper, and the ultimate long-term impact of the business shutdowns that occurred as a result of COVID-19 remains uncertain in many sectors of the economy, such as the travel, hospitality and entertainment industries. This  may cause business sectors that have had better recoveries not to be able to maintain those recoveries in the long term.  Although the Corporation has business continuity plans and other safeguards in place, there is no assurance that such plans and safeguards will continue to be effective.

To help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and financial markets, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) lowered the federal funds target rate to a range of between zero and 0.25% during the first quarter of 2020.  Throughout 2021, the Federal Reserve continued to maintain the targeted federal funds rate at these levels because of the pandemic-related risks to the economy.  The Corporation's earnings and related cash flows are largely dependent upon net interest income, representing the difference between interest income received on interest-earning assets, primarily loans and securities, and the interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities, primarily customer deposits and borrowed funds.  As a result of the significant decline in interest rates and prepayments on higher yielding existing loans, the yield on the total loan portfolio has decreased.  Additionally, with significant cash inflows realized from a growth in deposits and the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, the current yields on funds reinvested into the purchase of securities are lower than existing portfolio yields.  However, the fees arising from the PPP loan program have mitigated some of this decline during 2020 and 2021.  As economic conditions have started to improve, the Federal Reserve has begun to shift its focus to limiting the inflationary and other potentially adverse effects of the expiration of government aid programs and stimulus packages and has begun raising interest rates.  Since the Corporation's balance sheet is asset sensitive and rate sensitive assets reprice more quickly than rate sensitive liabilities, margin compression may be somewhat mitigated during 2022 as the Federal Reserve raises rates.

The U.S. government also enacted certain fiscal stimulus measures in several phases to assist in counteracting the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic.  On March 6, 2020, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was enacted to authorize funding for research and development of vaccines and to allocate money to state and local governments for response and containment measures.  On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was put in place to provide for paid sick/medical leave, no-cost coverage for testing, expanded unemployment benefits and additional funding to states for the ongoing economic consequences of the pandemic.  On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed by the President of the United States.  Among other measures, the CARES Act provided $349 billion for the PPP loans administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to assist qualified small businesses with certain operational expenses, certain credits for individuals and their dependents against their 2020 personal income tax and expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits.  This legislation was later amended on April 24, 2020, by the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act (PPPHE Act) which provided an additional $310 billion of funding for PPP loans.  In December 2020, the Bipartisan-Bicameral Omnibus COVID Relief Deal was enacted to provide additional economic stimulus to individuals and businesses in response to the extended economic distress caused by the pandemic.  This included additional stimulus payments to individuals and their dependents, an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, $284 billion of additional funds for a second round of PPP loans and a new simplified forgiveness procedure for PPP loans of $150,000 or less. 

Certain provisions within the CARES Act encourage financial institutions to practice prudent efforts to work with borrowers impacted by the pandemic.  Under these provisions, loan modifications deemed to be COVID-19 related would not be considered a troubled debt restructuring (TDR) if the loan was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019 and the deferral was executed between March 1, 2020 and the earlier of 60 days after the date of the termination of the COVID-19 national emergency or December 31, 2020.  This provision was extended, and expired on January 1, 2022 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The banking regulators issued similar guidance, which also clarified that a COVID-19 related modification should not be considered a TDR if the borrower was current on payments at the time the underlying loan modification program was implemented and if the modification is considered to be short-term.  The Corporation implemented a short-term modification program to provide relief to consumer and commercial customers following the guidelines of these provisions.  Most modifications fall into the 90 to 180-day range with deferred principal and interest due and payable on the maturity date of the existing loans.  Specific detail describing these modifications made in relation to the CARES Act can be found in the TDR discussion in "Note 4 - Loans Receivable and Related Allowance for Loan Losses" to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Corporation responded to the circumstances surrounding the pandemic to support the safety and well-being of the employees, customers and shareholders by holding meetings virtually, restricting travel and attendance at external gatherings, expending remote-access availability and limiting banking office lobby hours.  Remote-access employees have since transitioned back to the office and banking offices resumed normal business hours.  The Corporation continues to monitor events related to the pandemic and will take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of its customers and employees.