CAPITAL CITY BANK GROUP INC (CCBG) FY 2022 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations under the section captioned
“Net Interest Income” and “Market Risk and Interest Rate Sensitivity” elsewhere
in this report for further discussion related to
interest rate sensitivity and our management of interest rate risk.
The fair value of our investments could decline which would cause a reduction
in shareowners’ equity.
A portion of our investment securities portfolio
(38.5%) at December 31, 2022 has been designated as available-for-sale pursuant
to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles relating to accounting for
investments. Such principles require that unrealized
gains and losses in the estimated value of the available-for-sale
portfolio be “marked to market” and reflected as a separate item in
shareowners’ equity (net of tax) as accumulated other comprehensive
income/losses. Shareowners’ equity will continue to reflect
the unrealized gains and losses (net of tax) of these investments. The fair value
of our investment portfolio may decline, causing a
corresponding decline in shareowners’ equity.
Management believes that several factors will affect the
fair values of our investment portfolio. These include, but are not limited
to, changes in interest rates or expectations of changes in interest rates, the degree
of volatility in the securities markets, inflation
rates or expectations of inflation and the slope of the interest rate yield curve
(the yield curve refers to the differences between
short-term and long-term interest rates; a positively sloped yield curve means short
-term rates are lower than long-term rates).
These and other factors may impact specific categories of the portfolio differently,
and we cannot predict the effect these factors
may have on any specific category.
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Inflationary pressures and rising prices may
affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Inflation rose sharply at the end of 2021 and continued rising in 2022 at levels not
seen for over 40 years. Inflationary pressures
are currently expected to remain elevated throughout 2023. Small to medium
-sized businesses may be impacted more during
periods of high inflation as they are not able to leverage economics of scale to
mitigate cost pressures compared to larger
businesses. Consequently,
the ability of our business customers to repay their loans may deteriorate, and in some
cases this
deterioration may occur quickly,
which would adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Furthermore, a
prolonged period of inflation could cause wages and other costs to further
increase which could adversely affect our results of
operations and financial condition. Sustained higher interest rates by
the Federal Reserve may be needed to tame persistent
inflationary price pressures, which could push down asset prices and weaken
economic activity. A deterioration
in economic
conditions in the United States and our markets could result in an increas
e
in loan delinquencies and non-performing assets,
decreases in loan collateral values and a decrease in demand for our products and
services, all of which, in turn, would adversely
affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The impact of interest rates on our mortgage banking business can
have a significant impact on revenues.
Changes in interest rates can impact our mortgage-related revenues and net revenues
associated with our mortgage activities.
A
decline in mortgage rates generally increases the demand for mortgage loans
as borrowers refinance, but also generally leads to
accelerated payoffs. Conversely,
in a constant or increasing rate environment, we would expect fewer loans to be refinanced
and a
decline in payoffs. Although we use models to assess the impact
of interest rates on mortgage-related revenues, the estimates of
revenues produced by these models are dependent on estimates and assumptions
of future loan demand, prepayment speeds and
other factors which may differ from actual subsequent
experience.
Shares of our common stock are not an insured
deposit and may lose value.
The shares of our common stock are not a bank deposit and will not be insured or
guaranteed by the FDIC or any other
government agency.
Your
investment will be subject to investment risk, and you must be capable of affording the
loss of your
entire investment.
Limited trading activity for shares of our common stock may
contribute to price volatility.
While our common stock is listed and traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, there
has historically been limited trading
activity in our common stock.
The average daily trading volume of our common stock over the 12-month
period ending
December 31, 2022 was approximately 27,987 shares. Due to the limited
trading activity of our common stock, relativity small
trades may have a significant impact on the price of our common stock.
Securities analysts may not initiate coverage or continue to cover our common
stock, and this may have a negative impact
on its market price.
The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research
and reports that securities analysts publish about us
and our business. We do
not have any control over securities analysts, and they may not initiate coverage
or continue to cover our
common stock. If securities analysts do not cover our common stock, the lack
of research coverage may adversely affect its
market price. If we are covered by securities analysts, and our common stock is the subject of
an unfavorable report, our stock
price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover our Company
or fails to publish regular reports on us,
we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which may cause our
stock price or trading volume to decline.
We may be adversely
impacted by the transition from LIBOR as a reference
rate.
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct
Authority and the administrator of LIBOR have announced that the publication
of the
most commonly used U.S. dollar London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”)
settings will cease to be published or cease to be
representative after June 30, 2023.
The publication of all other LIBOR settings ceased to be published as of December 31,
2021.
Given consumer protection, litigation, and reputation risks, the bank regulatory
agencies have indicated that entering into new
contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021, would
create safety and soundness risks and that they will
examine bank practices accordingly.
Therefore, the agencies encouraged banks to cease entering into new contracts that use
LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable and in any event by December 31,
2021.
Prior to December 31, 2021, we
discontinued originating LIBOR-based loans.
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At December 31, 2022, we have 112 loans
totaling approximately $71 million that are indexed to LIBOR.
We believe our
current
portfolio of LIBOR based loan contracts contain the necessary fallback language,
however, the timing and manner in which each
customer’s contract
transitions to a replacement index will vary on a case-by-case basis.
We also have $33
million in floating rate
investment securities that are indexed to LIBOR.
We are currently
evaluating fallback language for each investment security.
Lastly, we have two floating
rate subordinated debenture notes totaling $53 million and a related interest rate swap
contract for
$30 million that are indexed to LIBOR (Refer to Note 12 – Long Term
Borrowings and Note 5 – Derivatives in our Consolidated
Financial Statements).
Effective June 30, 2023, in accordance with the trust agreement
and the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR)
Act of 2021, LIBOR will be replaced with 3-month CME term SOFR (secured overnight
financing rate) as the interest rate index
for these notes.
The interest rate swap contract adheres to the International Swaps and Derivatives
Association’s protocol which
requires conversion to the fallback SOFR rate at the time of LIBOR cessation.
Since replacement rates are calculated differently,
payments under contracts referencing new rates will differ
from those referencing LIBOR, which may lead to increased volatility
as compared to LIBOR.
Credit Risks
Our loan portfolio includes loans with a higher risk of loss which could lead to higher loan
losses and nonperforming
assets.
We originate
commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction loans, vacant land
loans, consumer loans, and
residential mortgage loans primarily within our market area. Commercial
real estate, commercial, construction, vacant land, and
consumer loans may expose a lender to greater credit risk than traditional
fixed-rate fully amortizing loans secured by single-
family residential real estate because the collateral securing these loans may
not be sold as easily as single-family residential real
estate. In addition, these loan types tend to involve larger loan balances
to a single borrower or groups of related borrowers and
are more susceptible to a risk of loss during a downturn in the business cycle. These
loans also have historically had greater credit
risk than other loans for the following reasons:
●
Commercial Real Estate Loans
. Repayment is dependent on income being generated in amounts sufficient
to cover
operating expenses and debt service. These loans also involve greater risk because
they are generally not fully amortizing
over the loan period, but rather have a balloon payment due at maturity.
A borrower’s ability to make a balloon payment
typically will depend on the borrower’s ability to either
refinance the loan or timely sell the underlying property.
At
December 31, 2022, commercial mortgage loans comprised approximately
31.0% of our total loan portfolio.
●
Commercial Loans
. Repayment is generally dependent upon the successful operation of the borrower’s
business. In
addition, the collateral securing the loans may depreciate over time, be
difficult to appraise, be illiquid, or fluctuate in
value based on the success of the business. At December 31, 2022, commercial loans
comprised approximately 9.8% of
our total loan portfolio.
●
Construction Loans
. The risk of loss is largely dependent on our initial estimate of whether
the property’s value at
completion equals or exceeds the cost of property construction and the availability
of take-out financing. During the
construction phase, a number of factors can result in delays or cost overruns. If
our estimate is inaccurate or if actual
construction costs exceed estimates, the value of the property securing our
loan may be insufficient to ensure full
repayment when completed through a permanent loan, sale of the property,
or by seizure of collateral.
At December 31,
2022, construction loans comprised approximately 9.3% of our total loan portfolio.
●
Vacant
Land Loans
. Because vacant or unimproved land is generally held by the borrower
for investment purposes or
future use, payments on loans secured by vacant or unimproved land will typically
rank lower in priority to the borrower
than a loan the borrower may have on their primary residence or business. These loans
are susceptible to adverse
conditions in the real estate market and local economy.
At December 31, 2022, vacant land loans comprised
approximately 3.28% of our total loan portfolio.
●
HELOCs
. Our open-ended home equity loans have an interest-only draw period
followed by a five-year repayment
period of 0.75% of the principal balance monthly and a balloon payment
at maturity. Upon the commencement
of the
repayment period, the monthly payment can increase significantly,
thus, there is a heightened risk that the borrower will
be unable to pay the increased payment. Further,
these loans also involve greater risk because they are generally not fully
amortizing over the loan period, but rather have a balloon payment due
at maturity.
A borrower’s ability to make a
balloon payment may depend on the borrower’s ability
to either refinance the loan or timely sell the underlying property.
At December 31, 2022, HELOCs comprised approximately 8.2% of
our total loan portfolio.
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●
Consumer Loans
. Consumer loans (such as automobile loans and personal lines of
credit) are collateralized, if at all,
with assets that may not provide an adequate source of payment of the loan due
to depreciation, damage, or loss. At
December 31, 2022, consumer loans comprised approximately 12.9%
of our total loan portfolio, with indirect auto loans
making up a majority of this portfolio at approximately 93.3% of the total
balance.
The increased risks associated with these types of loans result in a correspondingly
higher probability of default on such loans (as
compared to fixed-rate fully amortizing single-family real estate loans). Loan
defaults would likely increase our loan losses and
nonperforming assets and could adversely affect our allowance
for loan losses and our results of operations.
Our loan portfolio is heavily concentrated in mortgage loans secured
by properties in Florida and Georgia which causes
our risk of loss to be higher than if we had a more geographically diversified
portfolio.
Our interest-earning assets are heavily concentrated in mortgage loans secured
by real estate, particularly real estate located in
Florida and Georgia.
At December 31, 2022, approximately 77% of our loans included real estate as a primary,
secondary, or
tertiary component of collateral. The real estate collateral in each case provides
an alternate source of repayment in the event of
default by the borrower; however, the value
of the collateral may decline during the time the credit is extended. If we are required
to liquidate the collateral securing a loan during a period of reduced real estate
values to satisfy the debt, our earnings and capital
could be adversely affected.
Additionally, at December
31, 2022, a significant number of our loans secured by real estate are secured by commercial and
residential properties located in Florida and Georgia. The
concentration of our loans in these areas subjects us to risk that a
downturn in the economy or recession in these areas could result in a decrease in
loan originations and increases in delinquencies
and foreclosures, which would more greatly affect us than
if our lending were more geographically diversified. In addition, since
a large portion of our portfolio is secured by properties located
in Florida and Georgia, the occurrence of a natural disaster,
such
as a hurricane, or a man-made disaster could result in a decline in loan originations,
a decline in the value or destruction of
mortgaged properties and an increase in the risk of delinquencies, foreclosures
or loss on loans originated by us. We
may suffer
further losses due to the decline in the value of the properties underlying our
mortgage loans, which would have an adverse
impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our concentration in loans secured by real estate
may increase our credit losses, which would negatively
affect our
financial results.
Due to the lack of diversified industry within some of the markets served by CCB and the relatively
close proximity of our
geographic markets, we have both geographic concentrations as well as concentrations
in the types of loans funded. Specifically,
due to the nature of our markets, a significant portion of the portfolio has historically
been secured with real estate. At December
31, 2022, approximately 33% and 44% of our $2.525 billion loan
portfolio was secured by commercial real estate and residential
real estate, respectively.
As of this same date, approximately 9% was secured by property under
construction.
In the event we are required to foreclose on a property securing one of our mortgage
loans or otherwise pursue our remedies in
order to protect our investment, we may be unable to recover funds in an amount
equal to our projected return on our investment
or in an amount sufficient to prevent a loss to us due to prevailing economic
conditions, real estate values and other factors
associated with the ownership of real property.
As a result, the market value of the real estate or other collateral underlying our
loans may not, at any given time, be sufficient to satisfy the outstanding
principal amount of the loans, and consequently,
we
would sustain loan losses.
An inadequate allowance for credit losses would reduce our
earnings.
We are exposed
to the risk that our clients may be unable to repay their loans according to their terms and
that any collateral
securing the payment of their loans may not be sufficient
to assure full repayment. This could result in credit losses that are
inherent in the lending business. We
evaluate the collectability of our loan portfolio and provide an allowance
for credit losses
that we believe is adequate based upon such factors as:
●
the risk characteristics of various classifications of loans;
●
previous loan loss experience;
●
specific loans that have loss potential;
●
delinquency trends;
●
estimated fair market value of the collateral;
●
current and future economic conditions; and
●
geographic and industry loan concentrations.
24
At December 31, 2022, our allowance for credit losses for loans held for
investment was $24.7 million, which represented
approximately 0.982% of our total loans held for investment.
We had $2.3
million in nonaccruing loans at December 31, 2022.
The allowance is based on management’s
reasonable estimate and may not prove sufficient to cover future loan
losses.
Although
management uses the best information available to make determinations
with respect to the allowance for credit losses, future
adjustments may be necessary if economic conditions differ substantially
from the assumptions used or adverse developments
arise with respect to our nonperforming or performing loans.
In addition, regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their
examination process, periodically review our estimated losses on loans.
Our regulators may require us to recognize additional
losses based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of
their examination.
Accordingly, the allowance
for credit losses may not be adequate to cover all future loan losses and significant increases
to the allowance may be required in
the future if, for example, economic conditions worsen.
A material increase in our allowance for credit losses would adversely
impact our net income and capital in future periods, while having the effect
of overstating our current period earnings.
We may incur significant costs associated
with the ownership of real property
as a result of foreclosures, which could
reduce our net income.
Since we originate loans secured by real estate, we may have to foreclose on the
collateral property to protect our investment and
may thereafter own and operate such property,
in which case we would be exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of real
estate.
The amount that we, as a mortgagee, may realize after a foreclosure is dependent
upon factors outside of our control, including,
but not limited to:
●
general or local economic conditions;
●
environmental cleanup liability;
●
neighborhood values;
●
interest rates;
●
real estate tax rates;
●
operating expenses of the mortgaged properties;
●
supply of and demand for rental units or properties;
●
ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties;
●
zoning laws;
●
governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; and
●
acts of God.
Certain expenditures associated with the ownership of real estate, including
real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance costs,
may adversely affect the income from the real estate. Furthermore,
we may need to advance funds to continue to operate or to
protect these assets. As a result, the cost of operating real property
assets may exceed the rental income earned from such
properties or we may be required to dispose of the real property at a loss.
25
Liquidity Risks
Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our financial
condition.
Effective liquidity management is essential for the operation of
our business. We
require sufficient liquidity to meet client loan
requests, client deposit maturities and withdrawals, payments on our debt obligations
as they come due and other cash
commitments under both normal operating conditions and other unpredictable
circumstances causing industry or general financial
market stress. If we are unable to raise funds through deposits, borrowings,
earnings and other sources, it could have a substantial
negative effect on our liquidity.
In particular, a majority of our liabilities during
2022 were checking accounts and other liquid
deposits, which are generally payable on demand or upon short notice.
By comparison, a substantial majority of our assets were
loans, which cannot generally be called or sold in the same time frame. 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, especially if a large
number of our depositors seek to withdraw their accounts at the same time, regardless
of the reason. 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 or the financial services industry or economy in general.
Factors that could negatively impact our access to liquidity
sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of a downturn
in the markets in which our loans are
concentrated, adverse regulatory action against us, or our inability to attract
and retain deposits. Our access to deposits may be
negatively impacted by,
among other factors, periods of low interest rates or high interest rates.
Periods of high interest rates
could promote increased competition for deposits, including from new
financial technology competitors, or provide customers
with alternative investment options.
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 services industry.
If we
are unable to maintain adequate liquidity,
it could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations
or financial
condition.
We may be unable to pay dividends in the future.
In 2022, our Board of Directors declared four quarterly cash dividends.
Declarations of any future dividends will be contingent on
our ability to earn sufficient profits and to remain well capitalized,
including our ability to hold and generate sufficient capital to
comply with the Common Equity Tier 1 Capital
conservation buffer requirement. In addition, due to our contractual obligations
with the holders of our trust preferred securities, if we defer the payment of accrued interest
owed to the holders of our trust
preferred securities, we may not make dividend payments to our
shareowners.
Further, under applicable statutes and regulations,
CCB’s board of directors,
after charging-off bad debts, depreciation and other
worthless assets, if any,
and making provisions for reasonably anticipated future losses on loans and other assets,
may quarterly,
semi-annually, or
annually declare and pay dividends to CCBG of up to the aggregate net income
of that period combined with
the CCB’s retained net income for
the preceding two years and, with the approval of the Florida Office of Financial
Regulation
and Federal Reserve, declare a dividend from retained net income which accrued
prior to the preceding two years.
Additional
state laws generally applicable to Florida corporations may also limit our ability
to declare and pay dividends. Thus, our ability to
fund future dividends may be restricted by state and federal laws and regulations.
Regulatory and Compliance Risks
We are subject to
extensive regulation, which could restrict our activities
and impose financial requirements or limitations
on the conduct of our business.
We
are subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination
by our regulators, including the Florida Office of Financial
Regulation, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC. Our compliance with
these industry regulations is costly and restricts certain of
our activities, including payment of dividends, mergers
and acquisitions, investments, lending and interest rates charged on
loans,
interest rates paid on deposits, access to capital and brokered deposits and locations
of banking offices. If we are unable to meet
these regulatory requirements, our financial condition, liquidity and results of
operations would be materially and adversely
affected.
Our activities are also regulated under consumer protection laws applicable
to our lending, deposit and other activities. Many of
these regulations are intended primarily for the protection of our
depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund and not for the
benefit of our shareowners. In addition to the regulations of the bank regulatory
agencies, as a member of the Federal Home Loan
Bank of Atlanta (“FHLB”), we must also comply with applicable regulations
of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the
Federal Home Loan Bank.
26
Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to restrictions
on our business activities, fines and other
penalties, any of which could adversely affect our results of
operations, capital base and the price of our securities. Further,
any
new laws, rules and regulations could make compliance more difficult
or expensive or otherwise adversely affect our business and
financial condition. Please refer to the Section entitled “Business – Regulatory
Considerations” on page 10.
U.S. federal banking agencies may require us to increase
our regulatory capital, long-term debt or liquidity requirements,
which could result in the need to issue additional qualifying securities or to
take other actions, such as to sell company
assets.
We are subject to
U.S. regulatory capital and liquidity rules. These rules, among other things, establish minimum
requirements to
qualify as a well-capitalized institution. If CCB fails to maintain its status as well capitalized
under the applicable regulatory
capital rules, the Federal Reserve will require us to agree to bring the bank back to
well-capitalized status. For the duration of
such an agreement, the Federal Reserve may impose restrictions on our
activities. If we were to fail to enter into or comply with
such an agreement or fail to comply with the terms of such agreement, the Federal
Reserve may impose more severe restrictions
on our activities, including requiring us to cease and desist activities permitted
under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956.
Capital and liquidity requirements are frequently introduced and amended.
It is possible that regulators may increase regulatory
capital requirements, change how regulatory capital is calculated or increase liquidity
requirements.
In 2013, the Federal Reserve Board released its final rules which implement
in the United States the Basel III regulatory capital
reforms from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain
changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the final
rule, minimum requirements increased for both the quality and quantity of capital held
by banking organizations. Consistent with
the international Basel framework, the rule includes a new minimum
ratio of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital, or CET1, to Risk-
Weighted Assets, or
RWA,
of 4.5% and a CET1 conservation buffer of 2.5% of RWA
(which was fully phased-in in 2019) that
apply to all supervised financial institutions.
The CET1 conservation buffer requirement requires us
to hold additional CET1
capital in excess of the minimum required to meet the CET1 to RWA
ratio requirement. The rule also, among other things, raised
the minimum ratio of Tier 1 Capital to RWA
from 4% to 6% and included a minimum leverage ratio of 4% for all banking
organizations. The impact of the new capital rules requires us to maintain
higher levels of capital, which we expect will lower our
return on equity. Additionally,
if our CET1 to RWA
ratio does not exceed the minimum required plus the additional CET1
conservation buffer,
we may be restricted in our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions of capital to our shareowners.
Further changes to and compliance with the regulatory capital and liquidity requirements
may impact our operations by requiring
us to liquidate assets, increase borrowings, issue additional equity or other
securities, cease or alter certain operations, sell
company assets or hold highly liquid assets, which may adversely affect
our results of operations. We
may be prohibited from
taking capital actions such as paying or increasing dividends or repurchasing
securities.
Changes in accounting standards or assumptions in applying accounting policies
could adversely affect us.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report
our financial condition and results of
operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions
that may affect the reported value of our assets or
liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management
to make difficult, subjective and complex
judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions,
estimates or judgments were incorrectly made, we
could be required to correct and restate prior-period financial statements. Accounting
standard-setters and those who interpret the
accounting standards, the SEC, banking regulators and our independent
registered public accounting firm may also amend or even
reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how various standards
should be applied. These changes may be difficult to
predict and could impact how we prepare and report our financial statements. In
some cases, we could be required to apply a new
or revised standard retrospectively,
resulting in us revising prior-period financial statements.
Florida financial institutions, such as CCB, face a higher risk of noncompliance
and enforcement actions with the Bank
Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.
Since September 11, 2001, banking regulators
have intensified their focus on anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act
compliance requirements, particularly the anti-money laundering
provisions of the USA PATRIOT
Act. There is also increased
scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign
Assets Control, or OFAC. Since 2004,
federal banking
regulators and examiners have been extremely aggressive in their supervision
and examination of financial institutions located in
the State of Florida with respect to the institution’s
Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering compliance. Consequently,
numerous formal enforcement actions have been instituted against financial
institutions. If CCB’s policies, procedures
and
systems are deemed deficient or the policies, procedures and systems of the
financial institutions that it has already acquired or
may acquire in the future are deficient, CCB would be subject to liability,
including fines and regulatory actions such as
restrictions on its ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory
approvals to proceed with certain aspects of its
business plan, including its acquisition plans.
27
Fee revenues from overdraft protection
programs constitute a significant portion of our noninterest income
and may be
subject to increased supervisory scrutiny.
Revenues derived from transaction fees associated with overdraft protection
programs offered to consumers represent a
significant portion of our noninterest income. In 2022, the Company collected
approximately $10.6 million in net consumer
overdraft transaction fees.
In 2022, certain members of Congress and the leadership of the CFPB have expressed
a heightened interest in bank consumer
overdraft protection programs. In 2022, the CFPB piloted a supervision
effort to collect key metrics from some supervised
institutions regarding the consumer impact of their overdraft and
non-sufficient fund practices, with the intent of using this
information to identify institutions for further examination and review.
The CFPB has indicated that it intends to pursue
enforcement actions against banking organizations,
and their executives, that oversee overdraft practices that are deemed to be
unlawful, and indeed took action against a large bank for charging
“surprise” overdraft fees known as authorized positive fee. In
October of 2022, the CFPB issued guidance to help banks avoid charging
illegal surprise overdraft fees. In addition, the
Comptroller of the Currency has identified potential options for
reform of national bank overdraft protection practices, including
providing a grace period before the imposition of a fee, refraining
from charging multiple fees in a single day and eliminating fees
altogether.
In response to this increased congressional and regulatory scrutiny,
and in anticipation of enhanced supervision and enforcement
of overdraft protection practices in the future, certain banking organizations
have begun to modify their overdraft protection
programs, including by discontinuing the imposition of overdraft transaction
fees. These competitive pressures from our peers, as
well as any adoption by our regulators of new rules or supervisory guidance or
more aggressive examination and enforcement
policies in respect of banks’ overdraft protection practices, could cause
us to modify our program and practices in ways that may
have a negative impact on our revenue and earnings, which, in turn, could have
an adverse effect on our financial condition and
results of operations.
Operational Risks
Many types of operational risks can affect our earnings negatively.
We regularly
assess and monitor operational risk in our businesses. Despite our efforts to
assess and monitor operational risk, our
risk management framework may not be effective in all cases.
Factors that can impact operations and expose us to risks varying
in
size, scale and scope include:
●
failures of technological systems or breaches of security measures, including, but not
limited to, those resulting from
computer viruses or cyber-attacks;
●
unsuccessful or difficult implementation of computer systems upgrades;
●
human errors or omissions, including failures to comply with applicable
laws or corporate policies and procedures;
●
theft, fraud or misappropriation of assets, whether arising from the intentional
actions of internal personnel or external
third parties;
●
breakdowns in processes, breakdowns in internal controls or failures of
the systems and facilities that support our
operations;
●
deficiencies in services or service delivery;
●
negative developments in relationships with key counterparties, third-party
vendors, or employees in our day-to-day
operations; and
●
external events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, such as pandemics,
geopolitical events, political unrest,
natural disasters or acts of terrorism.
While we have in place many controls and business continuity plans designed
to address these factors and others, these plans may
not operate successfully to mitigate these risks effectively.
If our controls and business continuity plans do not mitigate the
associated risks successfully,
such factors may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition or results
of
operations. In addition, an important aspect of managing our operational
risk is creating a risk culture in which all employees
fully understand that there is risk in every aspect of our business and the importance
of managing risk as it relates to their job
functions. We
continue to enhance our risk management program to support our risk culture. Nonetheless,
if we fail to provide the
appropriate environment that sensitizes all of our employees to managing
risk, our business could be impacted adversely.
28
We are subject to
certain operational risks, including, but not limited to, customer,
employee or third-party fraud and
data processing system failures and errors.
We rely on
the ability of our employees and systems to process a high number of transactions. Operational
risk is the risk of loss
resulting from our operations, including but not limited to, the risk of
fraud by employees or persons outside our company,
the
execution of unauthorized transactions by employees, errors relating
to transaction processing and technology,
breaches of our
internal control systems and compliance requirements. Insurance coverage
may not be available for such losses, or where
available, such losses may exceed insurance limits. This risk of loss also includes
the potential legal actions that could arise as a
result of operational deficiencies or as a result of non-compliance with applicable
regulatory standards, adverse business decisions
or their implementation, or customer attrition due to potential negative
publicity. In the event of a breakdown
in our internal
control systems, improper operation of systems or improper employee
actions, we could suffer financial loss, face regulatory
action, and/or suffer damage to our reputation.
We are subject to
credit and/or settlement risk arising from
the soundness of other financial institutions and
counterparties which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition,
and results of operations.
Financial services institutions are interrelated as a result of trading,
clearing, counterparty, or other
relationships. We
have
exposure to many different industries and counterparties,
and routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial
services industry, including
commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks, other institutional
clients, and certain
vendors.
Many of these transactions expose us to credit or settlement risk in the event of
a default or other failure to adhere to
contractual obligations by a counterparty or client. In addition, our credit
or settlement risk may be exacerbated when any
collateral held by us cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient
to recover the full amount of the credit or
derivative exposure due to us. Increased interconnectivity amongst
financial institutions also increases the risk of cyber-attacks
and information system failures for financial institutions. Any such losses could
have a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition,
and results of operations.
Pandemics, natural disasters, global climate change, acts of terrorism
and global conflicts may have a negative impact on
our business and operations.
Pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), natural disasters, global
climate change, acts of terrorism, global conflicts or other
similar events have in the past, and may in the future have, a negative impact on our
business and operations. These events impact
us negatively to the extent that they result in reduced capital markets activity,
lower asset price levels, or disruptions in general
economic activity in the United States or abroad, or in financial market settlement functions.
In addition, these or similar events
may impact economic growth negatively,
which could have an adverse effect on our business and operations and may have other
adverse effects on us in ways that we are unable to predict.
Our business operations could be disrupted if significant portions of our
workforce were unable to work effectively,
including
because of illness, quarantines, government actions, or other restrictions
in connection with the pandemic. Further, work-from-
home and other modified business practices may introduce additional operational
risks, including cybersecurity and execution
risks, which may result in inefficiencies or delays, and may affect
our ability to, or the manner in which we, conduct our business
activities. Disruptions to our clients could result in increased risk of delinquencies,
defaults, foreclosures and losses on our loans.
The escalation of the pandemic may also negatively impact regional economic
conditions for a period of time, resulting in
declines in local loan demand, liquidity of loan guarantors, loan collateral (particularly
in real estate), loan originations and
deposit availability.
Litigation may adversely affect our results.
We are subject to
litigation in the ordinary course of business. Claims and legal actions, including
supervisory actions by our
regulators, could involve large monetary claims and significant
defense costs. The outcome of litigation and regulatory matters as
well as the timing of ultimate resolution are inherently difficult to
predict.
Actual legal and other costs of resolving claims may be greater than our
legal reserves. The ultimate resolution of a pending legal
proceeding, depending on the remedy sought and granted, could
materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial
condition.
In addition, governmental authorities have, at times, sought criminal penalties
against companies in the financial services sector
for violations, and, at times, have required an admission of wrongdoing
from financial institutions in connection with resolving
such matters. Criminal convictions or admissions of wrongdoing in a settlement with
the government can lead to greater exposure
in civil litigation and reputational harm.
Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material
adverse financial effects or cause
significant reputational harm, which adversely impact our business prospects.
Further, we may be exposed to substantial
uninsured liabilities, which could adversely affect
our results of operations and financial condition.
29
Strategic Risks
Our future success is dependent on our ability to compete effectively
in the highly competitive banking industry.
We face vigorous
competition for deposits, loans and other financial services in our market area
from other banks and financial
institutions, including savings and loan associations, savings banks,
finance companies and credit unions. A number of our
competitors are significantly larger than we are and have greater access to
capital and other resources. Many of our competitors
also have higher lending limits, more expansive branch networks, and offer
a wider array of financial products and services. To
a
lesser extent, we also compete with other providers of financial services, such as money
market mutual funds, brokerage firms,
consumer finance companies, insurance companies and governmental
organizations, which may offer financial products and
services on more favorable terms than we are able to. Many of our non-bank
competitors are not subject to the same extensive
regulations that govern our activities. As a result, these non-bank competitors have advantages over
us in providing certain
services. The effect of this competition may reduce or limit our
margins or our market share and may adversely affect our
results
of operations and financial condition.
Our directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners,
if acting together,
have substantial control over all matters
requiring shareowner approval,
including changes of control. Because Mr.
William G. Smith, Jr.
is a principal
shareowner and our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive
Officer and Chairman of CCB, he has substantial control
over all matters on a day-to-day basis.
Our directors, executive officers, and principal
shareowners beneficially owned approximately 23.3% of the outstanding
shares of
our common stock at December 31, 2022.
William G. Smith, Jr.,
our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
beneficially owned 17.1% of our shares as of that date.
Accordingly, these directors, executive
officers, and principal
shareowners, if acting together, may be
able to influence or control matters requiring approval by our shareowners,
including the
election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions or
other extraordinary transactions. Moreover,
because William G.
Smith, Jr. is the Chairman, President,
and Chief Executive Officer of CCBG and Chairman of CCB, he has substantial
control
over all matters on a day-to-day basis, including the nomination and election
of directors.
These directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners may
also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a
way with which you disagree, and which may be adverse to your interests. The concentration
of ownership may have the effect of
delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company,
could deprive our shareowners of an opportunity to receive
a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our Company and might ultimately
affect the market price of our common
stock. You
may also have difficulty changing management, the composition of
the Board of Directors, or the general direction of
our Company.
Our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and certain laws and regulations
may prevent or delay transactions you might
favor,
including a sale or merger of CCBG.
CCBG is registered with the Federal Reserve as a financial holding
company under the Bank Holding Company Act, or BHC Act.
As a result, we are subject to supervisory regulation and examination by the
Federal Reserve. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the
BHC Act, and other federal laws subject financial holding companies
to restrictions on the types of activities in which they may
engage, and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities, including regulatory
enforcement actions for violations of laws
and regulations.
Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, certain laws and regulations
and various other factors may make it more
difficult and expensive for companies or persons to acquire control
of us without the consent of our Board of Directors. It is
possible, however, that you would want a
takeover attempt to succeed because, for example, a potential buyer could offer
a
premium over the then prevailing price of our common stock.
For example, our Articles of Incorporation permit our Board of Directors
to issue preferred stock without shareowner action. The
ability to issue preferred stock could discourage a company from attempting
to obtain control of us by means of a tender offer,
merger, proxy contest or
otherwise. We are also subject to
certain provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act and our
Articles of Incorporation that relate to business combinations with interested
shareowners. Other provisions in our Articles of
Incorporation or Bylaws that may discourage takeover attempts or make them
more difficult include:
●
Supermajority voting requirements to remove a director from office;
●
Provisions regarding the timing and content of shareowner proposals
and nominations;
●
Supermajority voting requirements to amend Articles of Incorporation
unless approval is received by a majority of
“disinterested directors”;
●
Absence of cumulative voting; and
●
Inability for shareowners to take action by written consent.
30
Reputational Risks
Damage to our reputation could harm our businesses, including our
competitive position and business prospects.
Our ability to attract and retain customers, clients, investors and employees
is impacted by our reputation. Harm to our reputation
can arise from various sources, including officer,
director or employee fraud, misconduct and unethical behavior,
security
breaches, litigation or regulatory outcomes, compensation practices, lending
practices, the suitability or reasonableness of
recommending particular trading or investment strategies, including
the reliability of our research and models, prohibiting clients
from engaging in certain transactions and employee sales practices. Additionally,
our reputation may be harmed by failing to
deliver products, subpar standards of service and quality expected by our
customers, clients and the community,
compliance
failures, the inability to manage technology change or maintain effective
data management, cyber incidents, internal and external
fraud, inadequacy of responsiveness to internal controls, unintended
disclosure of personal, proprietary or confidential
information, conflicts of interest and breach of fiduciary obligations, the
handling of health emergencies or pandemics, and the
activities of our clients, customers, counterparties and third parties, including
vendors. Our reputation may also be negatively
impacted by our environmental, social, and governance practices and
disclosures, our businesses and our customers, including
practices and disclosures related to climate change. Actions by the financial
services industry generally or by certain members or
individuals in the industry also can adversely affect our reputation.
In addition, adverse publicity or negative information posted
on social media by employees, the media or otherwise, whether or not factually
correct, may adversely impact our business
prospects or financial results.
We are subject to
complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy,
know-your-customer requirements, data
protection, cross-border data movement and other matters. Principles
concerning the appropriate scope of consumer and
commercial privacy vary considerably in different jurisdictions,
and regulatory and public expectations regarding the definition
and scope of consumer and commercial privacy may remain fluid.
It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied by
various jurisdictions in a manner inconsistent with our current or future practices,
or that is inconsistent with one another.
If
personal, confidential or proprietary information of customers or clients
in our possession, or in the possession of third parties
(including their downstream service providers) or financial data aggregators,
is mishandled, misused or mismanaged, or if we do
not timely or adequately address such information, we may face regulatory,
reputational and operational risks which could
adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We could suffer
reputational harm if we fail to properly identify and manage potential conflicts of interest.
Management of
potential conflicts of interest has become increasingly complex as we expand
our business activities through more numerous
transactions, obligations and interests with and among our clients. The failure
to adequately address, or the perceived failure to
adequately address, conflicts of interest could affect the
willingness of clients to use our products and services, or give rise to
litigation or enforcement actions, which could adversely affect our
business.
Our actual or perceived failure to address these and other issues, such as operational
risks, gives rise to reputational risk that could
harm us and our business prospects. Failure to appropriately address any
of these issues could also give rise to additional
regulatory restrictions, legal risks and reputational harm, which could, among
other consequences, increase the size and number
of litigation claims and damages asserted or subject us to enforcement
actions, fines and penalties, and cause us to incur related
costs and expenses.
Technology
Risks
We process, maintain,
and transmit confidential client information through our
information technology systems, such as
our online banking service.
Cybersecurity issues, such as security breaches and computer viruses, affecting
our
information technology systems or fraud related to our
debit card products could disrupt our business, result in the
unintended disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary
information, damage our reputation, increase our costs,
and cause losses.
We collect and
store sensitive data, including our proprietary business information and that of
our clients, and personally
identifiable information of our clients and employees, in our
information technology systems
.
We also provide
our clients the
ability to bank online.
The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information
is critical to our operations.
Our
network, or those of our clients, could be vulnerable to unauthorized
access, computer viruses, phishing schemes and other
security problems.
Financial institutions and companies engaged in data processing have increasingly
reported breaches in the
security of their websites or other systems, some of which have involved sophisticated and
targeted attacks intended to obtain
unauthorized access to confidential information, destroy data, disrupt or degrade
service, sabotage systems or cause other damage.
31
We may be required
to spend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of
security breaches and
computer viruses or to alleviate problems caused by security breaches or viruses.
Security breaches and viruses could expose us to
claims, litigation and other possible liabilities. Any inability to prevent
security breaches or computer viruses could also cause
existing clients to lose confidence in our systems and could adversely affect
our reputation and our ability to generate deposits.
Additionally, fraud
losses related to debit and credit cards have risen in recent years due in large part
to growing and evolving
schemes to illegally use cards or steal consumer credit card information despite
risk management practices employed by the debit
and credit card industries. Many issuers of debit and credit cards have suffered
significant losses in recent years due to the theft of
cardholder data that has been illegally exploited for personal gain.
The potential for debit and credit card fraud against us or our clients and our third-party
service providers is a serious issue. Debit
and credit card fraud is pervasive, and the risks of cybercrime are complex
and continue to evolve. In view of the recent high-
profile retail data breaches involving client personal and financial information,
the potential impact on us and any exposure to
consumer losses and the cost of technology investments to improve security
could cause losses to us or our clients, damage to our
brand, and an increase in our costs.
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2.
Properties
We are headquartered
in Tallahassee, Florida.
Our executive office is in the Capital City Bank building located
on the corner of
Tennessee and Monroe
Streets in downtown Tallahassee.
The building is owned by CCB, but is located on land leased under a
long-term agreement.
At December 31, 2022, Capital City Bank had 58 banking offices.
Of these locations, we lease the land, buildings, or both at
seven locations and own the land and buildings at the remaining 51. CCHL had
33 loan production offices, all of which were
leased.
Capital City Strategic Wealth,
LLC. maintained five offices, all of which were leased.