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Dividends and Restrictions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Disclosure Of Restrictions On Dividends Loans And Advances Disclosure [Abstract]  
Dividends and Restrictions

 

NOTE 19: Dividends and Restrictions

The Company's ability to pay dividends to its shareholders is largely dependent on the Bank's ability to pay dividends to the Company.  In addition to state law requirements and the capital requirements discussed in Note 20, regulatory matters, regulations and policies limit the circumstances under which the Bank may pay dividends.  The amount of retained earnings legally available under these regulations approximated $27.4 million as of December 31, 2021.  Dividends paid by the Bank to the Company would be prohibited if the effect thereof would cause the Bank’s capital to be reduced below applicable minimum capital requirements.  The Bank made no dividend payments to the Company in the years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2020 or December 31, 2019.

Capital adequacy is evaluated primarily by the use of ratios which measure capital against total assets, as well as against total assets that are weighted based on defined risk characteristics.  The Company’s goal is to maintain a strong capital position, consistent with the risk profile of its banking operations.  This strong capital position serves to support growth and expansion activities while at the same time exceeding regulatory standards.  At December 31, 2021, the Bank met the regulatory definition of a “well-capitalized” institution, i.e. a leverage capital ratio exceeding 5%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio exceeding 8%, Tier 1 common equity exceeding 6.5%, and a total risk-based capital ratio exceeding 10%.


 

In addition to establishing the minimum regulatory capital requirements, the regulations limit capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to management if the institution does not hold a “capital conservation buffer” consisting of 2.5% of common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets above the amount necessary to meet its minimum risk-based capital requirements.  The buffer is separate from the capital ratios required under the Prompt Corrective Action (“PCA”) standards. In order to avoid these restrictions, the capital conservation buffer effectively increases the minimum levels of the following capital to risk-weighted assets ratios: (1) Core Capital, (2) Total Capital and (3) Common Equity.  The capital conservation buffer requirement is now fully implemented at 2.5% of risk-weighted assets.  At December 31, 2021, the Bank exceeded all regulatory required minimum capital ratios, including the capital buffer requirements.

As a result of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, the federal banking agencies developed a “Community Bank Leverage Ratio” (the ratio of a bank's tier 1 capital to average total consolidated assets) for financial institutions with assets of less than $10 billion. A “qualifying community bank” that exceeds this ratio will be deemed to be in compliance with all other capital and leverage requirements, including the capital requirements to be considered “well capitalized” under Prompt Corrective Action statutes. The federal banking agencies may consider a financial institution's risk profile when evaluating whether it qualifies as a community bank for purposes of the capital ratio requirement. The federal banking agencies had set the Community Bank Leverage Ratio at 9%. Pursuant to the CARES Act, the federal banking agencies issued final rules to set the Community Bank Leverage Ratio at 8% beginning in the second quarter of 2020 through the end of 2020. In 2021, the Community Bank Leverage Ratio increased to 8.5% for the calendar year. Community banks had until January 1, 2022, before the Community Bank Leverage Ratio requirement returned to 9%. A financial institution can elect to be subject to this new definition. The new rule took effect on January 1, 2020. The Bank did not elect to become subject to the Community Bank Leverage Ratio.