CHEMUNG FINANCIAL CORP (CHMG)

Item 2:        Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Introduction

The following is the MD&A of the Corporation in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. Reference should be made to the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements and footnotes, and the Corporation’s 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 13, 2026, for an understanding of the following discussion and analysis. See the list of commonly used abbreviations and terms on pages 3-5.

The MD&A included in this Form 10-Q contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Corporation's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of those risks and uncertainties and the factors that could cause the Corporation’s actual results to differ materially from those risks and uncertainties, see Forward-looking Statements below, in Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors, and on pages 19-29 of the Corporation’s 2025 Form 10-K. For a discussion of the use of non-GAAP financial measures, see pages 68-70 of the Corporation's 2025 Form 10-K, and pages 81-83 of this Form 10-Q.

The Corporation has been a financial holding company since 2000, the Bank was established in 1833 and CFS in 2001. Through the Bank and CFS, the Corporation provides a wide range of financial services, including demand, savings, and time deposits, commercial, residential, and consumer loans, interest rate swaps, letters of credit, wealth management services, employee benefit plans, insurance products, mutual funds, and brokerage services. The Bank relies substantially on a foundation of locally generated deposits. The Corporation, on a stand-alone basis, has minimal results of operations. The Bank derives its income primarily from interest and fees on loans, interest income on investment securities, WMG fee income, and fees received in connection with deposit and other services. The Bank’s operating expenses are interest expense paid on deposits and borrowings, salaries and employee benefit plans, and general operating expenses.

Forward-looking Statements

This discussion contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. The Corporation intends its forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in these sections. All statements regarding the Corporation's expected financial position and operating results, the Corporation's business strategy, the Corporation's financial plans, forecasted demographic and economic trends relating to the Corporation's industry and similar matters are forward-looking statements. These statements can sometimes be identified by the Corporation's use of forward-looking words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," or "intend." The Corporation cannot guarantee that its expectations in such forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct. The Corporation's actual results could be materially different from expectations because of various factors, including changes in economic conditions or interest rates, credit risk, inflation, tariffs, cybersecurity risks, difficulties in managing the Corporation’s growth, bank failures, changes in FDIC assessments, public health issues, geopolitical conflicts, competition, changes in law or the regulatory environment, and changes in general business and economic trends.

Information concerning these and other factors, including Risk Factors, can be found in the Corporation’s periodic filings with the SEC, including the discussion under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Corporation’s 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These filings are available publicly on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov, on the Corporation's web site at http://www.chemungcanal.com or upon request from the Corporate Secretary at (607) 737-3746. Except as otherwise required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Recent Events

During July 2026, the OCC conditionally approved the Bank's application to convert its state charter in the State of New York to a national bank charter. The Bank expects to complete its charter conversion to a national bank prior to the end of 2026.

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Critical Accounting Estimates

Critical accounting estimates include the areas where the Corporation has made what it considers to be particularly difficult, subjective, or complex judgments concerning estimates, and where these estimates can significantly affect the Corporation's financial results under different assumptions and conditions. The Corporation prepares its financial statements in conformity with GAAP. As a result, the Corporation is required to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that it believes are reasonable based upon the information available at that time. These estimates, judgments, and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. Actual results could be different from these estimates. Significant accounting policies followed by the Corporation are presented in Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and in Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of this Form 10-Q.

Allowance for Credit Losses

Management considers the allowance for credit losses to be a critical accounting estimate, given the uncertainty in estimating lifetime credit losses attributable to its portfolios of assets exhibiting credit risk, particularly in its loan portfolio, and the material effect that such judgments may have on the Corporation's results of operations. Determining the amount requires significant judgment on the part of management, is multi-faceted, and can be imprecise. The level of the allowance for credit losses on loans is based on management’s ongoing review of all relevant information, from internal and external sources, relating to past events, current conditions, and expectations of the future based on reasonable and supportable forecasts.

The allowance is established through a provision for credit losses in the Consolidated Statements of Income, and an evaluation of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses is performed by management on a quarterly basis. While management uses available information to anticipate credit losses, future additions to the allowance may be necessary based on changes in economic conditions or the composition of its portfolios. In addition, various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review the Corporation's allowance for credit losses.

Because the Corporation's methodology for maintaining its allowance for credit losses is based on historical experience and trends, current economic information, forecasted data, and management's judgment, a range of estimates for the allowance for credit losses may be supportable. Deteriorating conditions may lead to further required increases to the allowance; conversely, improvements to conditions may warrant reductions to the allowance. In estimating the allowance for credit losses, management considers the sensitivity of the model to significant judgments and assumptions that could result in an amount that is materially different from management’s estimate, including as it relates to qualitative considerations.

As of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the allowance for credit losses totaled $25.2 million and $24.2 million, respectively. A significant portion of the allowance for credit losses is allocated to the commercial portfolio, and as of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the allowance for credit losses allocated to the total commercial portfolio was $20.4 million and $18.9 million, respectively, or 80.9% and 78.0% of the total allowance for credit losses on loans. For comparison, total commercial loans represented 78.1% and 76.4% of total loan balances as of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively. Given the concentration of the allowance for credit losses allocated to the commercial portfolio, and the significant judgments made by management to derive its estimates, management analyzes risks distinctive to commercial lending with a high degree of scrutiny.

Changes in the FOMC's median forecasted U.S. civilian unemployment rate and year over year change in U.S. GDP could have a material impact on the model's estimation of the allowance. Currently, most pools utilize the FOMC's projections for unemployment as a loss driver, while certain pools utilize the FOMC's projections for U.S. GDP growth as a loss driver. Segmentation and attributes of loan pools are defined in Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements in the Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. FOMC projections are sourced from a quarterly Summary of Projections, which accompanies select FOMC meetings. Each participant's projections represent the value to which selected variables would be expected to converge over time under appropriate monetary policy and considering all currently available information. An immediate "shock" or increase of 100 basis points in the FOMC's projected rate of U.S. civilian unemployment and a decrease of 50 basis points in the FOMC's projected rate of U.S. GDP growth would increase the model's total calculated allowance by $0.9 million, or 3.6%, to $26.2 million as of June 30, 2026, assuming qualitative adjustments were kept at current levels.

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Future changes to the availability, frequency, or content of the FOMC's projections could require management to utilize alternative reasonable and supportable forecasts or modify certain forecasting assumptions used in the model. Any such changes could affect the comparability of model results between periods and may increase the judgment involved in estimating the allowance for credit losses. While management has concluded that its current evaluation is reasonable under the circumstances, and that sensitivity and shock analyses are based on a series of hypothetical scenarios not intended to represent management’s assumptions or judgment of factors as of June 30, 2026, it has also concluded that differing assumptions could materially impact allowance calculations, either positively or adversely.

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ITEM 7.  MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION

Overview

The following is the MD&A of the Corporation as of and for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. The purpose of this discussion is to focus on information about the financial condition and results of operations of the Corporation. Reference should be made to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements and footnotes for an understanding of the following discussion and analysis. See the list of commonly used abbreviations and terms on pages 2-5.

The MD&A included in this Form 10-K contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Corporation's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of those risks and uncertainties and the factors that could cause the Corporation’s actual results to differ materially from those risks and uncertainties, see Forward-looking Statements below.

The Corporation has been a financial holding company since 2000, the Bank was established in 1833 and CFS was established in 2001. Through the Bank and CFS, the Corporation provides a wide range of financial services, including demand, savings and time deposits, commercial, residential, and consumer loans, interest rate swaps, letters of credit, wealth management services, employee benefit plans, insurance products, mutual funds and brokerage services. The Bank relies substantially on a foundation of locally generated deposits. The Corporation, on a stand-alone basis, has minimal results of operations. The Bank derives its income primarily from interest and fees on loans, interest on investment securities, WMG fee income, and fees received in connection with deposit and other services. The Bank’s operating expenses are interest expense paid on deposits and borrowings, salaries and employee benefit plans, and general operating expenses.

Forward-looking Statements

This discussion contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, Section 21E of the Exchange Act, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Corporation intends its forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in these sections. All statements regarding the Corporation's expected financial position and operating results, the Corporation's business strategy, the Corporation's financial plans, forecasted demographic and economic trends relating to the Corporation's industry and similar matters are forward-looking statements. These statements can sometimes be identified by the Corporation's use of forward-looking words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," or "intend." The Corporation cannot guarantee that its expectations in such forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct. The Corporation's actual results could be materially different from expectations because of various factors, including changes in economic conditions or interest rates, credit risk, inflation, tariffs, cybersecurity risks, changes in FDIC assessments, public health issues, geopolitical conflicts, bank failures, difficulties in managing the Corporation’s growth, competition, changes in law or the regulatory environment, and changes in general business and economic trends. Information concerning these and other factors can be found in the Corporation’s periodic filings with the SEC, including the discussion under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this annual report on Form 10-K. The Corporation's quarterly filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, on the Corporation's website at http://www.chemungcanal.com or by written request to: Kathleen S. McKillip, Corporate Secretary, Chemung Financial Corporation, One Chemung Canal Plaza, Elmira, NY 14901. Except as otherwise required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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Summary of Strategic Actions

During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Corporation completed certain strategic transactions which had a material impact on the Corporation's results of operations and the Corporation's financial condition as of December 31, 2025. These included components of management's balance sheet repositioning efforts and the completion of the sale of a previous branch property as part of management's ongoing evaluation of its physical distribution network. The following section provides a summary of these transactions.

Issuance of Subordinated Debt

On June 10, 2025, the Corporation issued $45.0 million of ten-year 7.75% fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes, due June 2035 (the "Notes"). The Notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 7.75% per year, payable semi-annually, for the first five years. Beginning on June 15, 2030 and until the maturity date, the Notes will adjust to a floating rate equal to the then current three- month term SOFR plus 415 basis points, payable quarterly. The Notes constitute unsecured and subordinated obligations of the Corporation and rank junior in right of payment to any senior indebtedness and obligations to general and secured creditors. Proceeds, net of debt issuance costs of $1.0 million, were $44.0 million. Subject to limited exceptions, the Corporation cannot redeem the Notes before the fifth anniversary of the issuance date. The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds from the issuance and sale of the Notes for general corporate purposes and to support regulatory capital ratios for growth initiatives. The Notes qualify as Tier 2 regulatory capital at the holding company, when applicable, subject to an annual phase-out of 20% of the Notes face amount each year during the last five years of the Note's maturity. From the proceeds of the Notes, the Corporation provided the Bank with a $37.0 million capital contribution, effectively downstreaming the regulatory capital impact of the Notes to the Bank as common equity Tier 1 capital, which is not subject to regulatory phase-out. The Corporation believes the issuance of subordinated debt strengthens its overall regulatory capital position and improves commercial real estate concentration ratios, allowing for flexibility in pursuing loan growth in its key expansion markets.

Sale of Available for Sale Securities

Subsequent to the Corporation's issuance of subordinated debt in June 2025, the Corporation sold available for sale securities with a book value of $244.8 million, or approximately 40% of its then total available for sale securities portfolio. These sales resulted in a realized pre-tax loss of $17.5 million, or approximately 7% of the total book value of securities sold, resulting in proceeds of $227.3 million. Securities sold as part of these sales included the Corporation's entire U.S. Treasury and SBA-pooled loan securities portfolios, as well as portions of its mortgage-backed securities and municipal bonds portfolios. A portion of proceeds from the sales were utilized to pay off $155.0 million in wholesale funding liabilities, including $100.0 million in brokered deposits and $55.0 million in FHLBNY term advances, in July 2025. All wholesale funding liabilities were paid off at maturity and the Corporation did not incur any prepayment penalties as a result of these payoffs.

Sale of Previous Branch Property

In April 2025, the Corporation completed the sale of its previous branch property at 806 Buffalo Street, Ithaca, New York. As previously disclosed, all operations of the branch, formerly known as the "Ithaca Station" branch were consolidated into the nearby branch at 304 Elmira Road, Ithaca, New York in the fourth quarter of 2024. The property had previously been classified as held for sale at its cost of $0.7 million, with proceeds from the sale totaling $1.3 million, resulting in the recognition of a $0.6 million gain during the year ended December 31, 2025.

Tax Implications - Deferred Tax Asset

The resulting net loss of $17.5 million from the sale of available for sale securities occurred at the Bank, as well as the Corporation’s REIT entity. Under IRC Sec. 582(c)(1), in the case of banks, the sale or exchange of a bond, debenture, note or certificate or other evidence of indebtedness shall not be considered a sale or exchange of a capital asset. Therefore, the loss from the sale of securities at the Bank is considered ordinary in nature. However, the REIT is not considered a “bank” under IRC Sec. 582(c) and therefore a sale of securities at the REIT is considered capital in nature. The capital loss amounted to $11.5 million (gross) and represents a $2.7 million deferred tax asset as of December 31, 2025 subject to a five-year carryforward limitation. Pursuant to ASC 740-10-30-5(e), deferred tax assets must be reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The valuation allowance would serve to reduce the deferred tax assets to an amount that would be more likely than not to be realized. The more likely than not threshold is a likelihood of more than 50 percent.

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The Corporation’s current tax planning strategies include the planned sale of appreciated investment securities and loans from the REIT entity. These transactions are intended to generate future capital gains sufficient to utilize the capital loss carryforward prior to its expiration. Management has demonstrated both the ability and intent to execute these strategies in a timely and economically feasible manner.

After detailed review, including various scenarios of changes in market interest rates, while the Corporation’s management has demonstrated the ability and intent to implement these prudent and reasonable actions, management determined that it is more likely than not that a portion of the deferred assets, including the capital loss carryforward, will not be realized. Further, management will continue to monitor all available positive and negative evidence on at least a quarterly basis, consistent with ASC 740, and will promptly adjust the valuation allowance assessment if facts and circumstances change materially.

Non-GAAP Presentation

The Corporation has identified both the sale of available for sale securities and the sale of the former Ithaca Station branch property as nonrecurring transactions and has made reference to non-GAAP figures within this MD&A where appropriate and useful to the reader of these financial statements. Please refer to the GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliations, pages 68-70, for further information.

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Critical Accounting Estimates

Critical accounting estimates include the areas where the Corporation has made what it considers to be particularly difficult, subjective, or complex judgments concerning estimates, and where these estimates can significantly affect the Corporation's financial results under different assumptions and conditions. The Corporation prepares its financial statements in conformity with GAAP. As a result, the Corporation is required to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that it believes to be reasonable based upon the information available at that time. These estimates, judgments, and assumptions affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the years presented. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Allowance for Credit Losses

Management considers the allowance for credit losses to be a critical accounting estimate, given the uncertainty in estimating lifetime credit losses attributable to its portf

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