civb-10k_20181231.htm

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant based upon the closing market price as of June 30, 2018 was $249,688,191. For this purpose, shares held by non-affiliates include all outstanding common shares except those beneficially owned by the directors and executive officers of the registrant.

As of February 28, 2019, there were 15,603,499 common shares, no par value, of the registrant issued and outstanding.

Portions of the registrant’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Annual Report”) are incorporated by reference into Parts I and II of this Form 10-K. Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 16, 2019 (the “2019 Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

CIVISTA BANCSHARES, INC. (“CBI”) was organized under the laws of the State of Ohio on February 19, 1987 and is a registered financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, as amended (the “GLBA”). CBI’s office is located at 100 East Water Street, Sandusky, Ohio. CBI and its subsidiaries are sometimes referred to together as the “Company”. The Company had total consolidated assets of $2,138,954 at December 31, 2018.

CIVISTA BANK (“Civista”), owned by the Company since 1987, opened for business in 1884 as The Citizens National Bank. In 1898, Civista was reorganized under Ohio banking law and was known as The Citizens Bank and Trust Company. In 1908, Civista surrendered its trust charter and began operation as The Citizens Banking Company. The name Civista Bank was introduced during the first quarter of 2015 to solidify our dual Citizens/Champaign brand and distinguish ourselves from the many other banks using the “Citizens” name in our existing and prospective markets. Civista maintains its main office at 100 East Water Street, Sandusky, Ohio and operates branch banking offices in the following Ohio communities: Sandusky (2), Norwalk (2), Berlin Heights, Huron, Port Clinton, Castalia, New Washington, Shelby (2), Willard, Greenwich, Plymouth, Shiloh, Akron, Dublin, Plain City, Russells Point, Urbana (2), West Liberty, Quincy, Dayton (3), and in the following Indiana communities: Lawrenceburg (3), Aurora, West Harrison, Milan, Osgood and Versailles. Civista also operates loan production offices in Mayfield Heights and Westlake, Ohio and Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Civista accounted for 99.7% of the Company’s consolidated assets at December 31, 2018.

FIRST CITIZENS INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. (“FCIA”) was formed in 2001 to allow the Company to participate in commission revenue generated through its third party insurance agreement. Assets of FCIA were not significant as of December 31, 2018.

WATER STREET PROPERTIES (“WSP”) was formed in 2003 to hold properties repossessed by CBI subsidiaries. Assets of WSP were not significant as of December 31, 2018.

FC REFUND SOLUTIONS, INC. (“FCRS”) was formed in 2012 and remained inactive for the periods presented. Assets of FCRS were not significant as of December 31, 2018.

FIRST CITIZENS INVESTMENTS, INC. (“FCI”) was formed in the fourth quarter of 2007 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Civista to hold and manage its securities portfolio. The operations of FCI are located in Wilmington, Delaware.

FIRST CITIZENS CAPITAL LLC (“FCC”) was also formed in the fourth quarter of 2007 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Civista to hold inter-company debt that is eliminated in consolidation. The operations of FCC are located in Wilmington, Delaware.

CIVB RISK MANAGEMENT, INC. (“CRMI”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company which was formed and began operations on December 26, 2017, is a Delaware-based captive insurance company which insures against certain risks unique to the operations of the Company and its subsidiaries and for which insurance may not be currently available or economically feasible in today’s insurance marketplace. CRMI pools resources with several other similar insurance company subsidiaries of financial institutions to spread a limited amount of risk among themselves. CRMI is subject to regulations of the State of Delaware and undergoes periodic examinations by the Delaware Division of Insurance.

On September 14, 2018, CBI completed the acquisition by merger of United Community Bancorp (“UCB”) in a stock and cash transaction for aggregate consideration of approximately $117,344. Immediately following the merger, UCB’s banking subsidiary, United Community Bank, was merged into CBI’s banking subsidiary, Civista Bank. At the time of the merger, UCB had total assets of $537,875, including $298,319 in loans, and $475,944 in deposits. As a result of the merger, we acquired eight offices of UCB in the Indiana communities of Lawrenceburg (3), Aurora, West Harrison, Milan, Osgood and Versailles and a loan production office in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

CBI is a financial holding company. Through its subsidiary bank, the Company is primarily engaged in the business of community banking, which accounts for substantially all of its revenue, operating income and assets. Refer to Consolidated Financial Statements on pages 24 through 29 of the 2018 Annual Report.

The Company’s primary business is incidental to the subsidiary bank. Civista, located in the Ohio counties of Erie, Crawford, Champaign, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Huron, Logan, Madison, Montgomery, Ottawa, Richland and Summit, in the Indiana counties of Dearborn and Ripley and in the Kentucky county of Kenton, conducts a general banking business that involves collecting customer deposits, making loans, purchasing securities, and offering Trust services.

Interest and fees on loans accounted for 70% of total revenue for 2018, 68% of total revenue for 2017, and 68% of total revenue for 2016. The Company’s primary focus of lending continues to be real estate loans, both residential and commercial in nature. Residential real estate mortgages comprised 29% of the total loan portfolio in 2018, 23% of the total loan portfolio in 2017 and 23% of the total loan portfolio in 2016. Commercial real estate loans comprised 47% of the total loan portfolio in 2018, 51% in 2017, and 53% in 2016. Commercial and agriculture loans comprised 11% of the total loan portfolio in 2018, 13% in 2017, and 13% in 2016. Civista’s loan portfolio does not include any foreign-based loans, loans to lesser-developed countries or loans to CBI.

On a parent company only basis, CBI’s primary source of funds is the receipt of dividends paid by its subsidiaries, principally Civista. The ability of Civista to pay dividends is subject to limitations under various laws and regulations and to prudent and sound banking principles. Generally, subject to certain minimum capital requirements, Civista may declare a dividend without the approval of the State of Ohio Division of Financial Institutions unless the total of the dividends in a calendar year exceeds the total net profits of the bank for the year combined with the retained profits of the bank for the two preceding years. At December 31, 2018, Civista had $50,821 of accumulated net profits available to pay dividends to CBI without approval of the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions.

The Company’s business is not seasonal, nor is it dependent on a single or small group of customers.

In the opinion of management, the Company does not have exposure to material costs associated with compliance with environmental laws and regulations or material expenditures related to environmental hazardous waste mitigation or cleanup.

The market area for Civista is Erie, Crawford, Champaign, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Huron, Logan, Madison, Montgomery, Ottawa, Richland and Summit Counties in Ohio, Dearborn and Ripley Counties in Indiana and Kenton County in Kentucky. Traditional financial service competition for Civista consists of large national and regional financial institutions, community banks, thrifts and credit unions operating within Civista’s market area. Nontraditional sources of competition for loan and deposit dollars come from captive auto finance companies, mortgage banking companies, internet banks, brokerage companies, insurance companies and direct mutual funds.

Civista experiences intense competition within several of its markets due to the presence of several national, regional and local financial institutions and other service providers. Civista primarily competes based on client service, convenience and responsiveness to customer needs, availability and selection of products, and rates of interest on loans and deposits. However, some of Civista’ competitors have greater resources and, as such, higher lending limits, which may adversely affect the ability of Civista to compete.

CBI has no employees. Civista employs approximately 432 full-time equivalent employees to whom a variety of benefits are provided. CBI and its subsidiaries are not parties to any collective bargaining agreements. Management considers its relationship with its employees to be good.

CBI and its subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision and regulation by federal and state agencies. The regulation of financial holding companies and their subsidiaries is intended primarily for the protection of consumers, depositors, borrowers, the federal Deposit Insurance Fund and the banking system as a whole, and not for the protection of shareholders. Applicable laws and regulations restrict permissible activities and investments and require actions to protect loan, deposit, brokerage, fiduciary and other customers, as well as the federal Deposit Insurance Fund. These laws and regulations also may restrict the ability of CBI to repurchase its common shares or to receive dividends from Civista, and impose capital adequacy and liquidity requirements. The following is a summary of the regulatory agencies that supervise and regulate CBI and Civista and the statutes and regulations that have, or could have, a material impact on the Company’s business. This discussion is qualified in its entirety by reference to such statutes and regulations.

The Bank Holding Company Act: As a financial holding company, CBI is subject to regulation under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and the examination and reporting requirements of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board). Under the BHCA, CBI is subject to periodic examination by the Federal Reserve Board and is required to file periodic reports regarding its operations and any additional information that the Federal Reserve Board may require. The Federal Reserve Board also has extensive enforcement authority over financial and bank holding companies, including the ability to assess civil money penalties, issue cease and desist and removal orders, and require that a financial or bank holding company divest subsidiaries, including its subsidiary banks.

Under applicable law and Federal Reserve Board policy, a financial or bank holding company is expected to act as a source of strength to each of its subsidiary banks. The Federal Reserve Board may require a financial or bank holding company to contribute additional capital to an undercapitalized subsidiary bank and may disapprove of the payment of dividends to shareholders if the Federal Reserve Board believes the payment of such dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice.

The BHCA generally limits the activities of a bank holding company to banking, managing or controlling banks, furnishing services to or performing services for its subsidiaries and engaging in any other activities that the Federal Reserve Board has determined to be so closely related to banking or to managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident to those activities. In addition, the BHCA requires every bank holding company to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve Board prior to acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of any bank or another financial or bank holding company, acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any bank not already majority-owned by it, or merging or consolidating with another financial or bank holding company.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: The GLBA permits qualifying bank holding companies to elect to become financial holding companies and thereby affiliate with securities firms and insurance companies and engage in other activities that are financial in nature if the holding company is well capitalized and well managed and each of its subsidiary banks is well capitalized under the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Corporation Act of 1991 prompt corrective action provisions, is well managed, and has at least a satisfactory rating under the Community Reinvestment Act. In March, 2000, CBI became a financial holding company. No regulatory approval is required for a financial holding company to acquire a company, other than a bank or a savings association, engaged in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to activities that are financial in nature, as determined by the Federal Reserve Board.

If a financial holding company or a subsidiary bank fails to maintain all requirements for the holding company to maintain financial holding company status, material restrictions may be placed on the activities of the financial holding company and its subsidiaries and on the ability of the holding company to enter into certain transactions and obtain regulatory approvals for new activities and transactions. The financial holding company could also be required to divest of subsidiaries that engage in activities that are not permitted for bank holding companies that are not financial holding companies. If restrictions are imposed on the activities of a financial holding company, the existence of such restrictions may not be made publicly available pursuant to confidentiality regulations of the bank regulatory agencies.

Transactions with Affiliates, Directors, Executive Officers and Shareholders: Transactions between Civista and its affiliates, including CBI, are subject to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, and Federal Reserve Board Regulation W, which generally limit the extent to which Civista may engage in “covered transactions” with affiliates and require that the terms of such transactions be the same, or at least as favorable, to Civista as the terms provided in a similar transaction between Civista and an unrelated party. The term “covered transaction” includes the making of loans to an affiliate, the purchase of assets from an affiliate, the issuance of a guarantee on behalf of an affiliate, the purchase of securities issued by an affiliate and other similar types of transactions.

A bank’s authority to extend credit to executive officers, directors and greater than 10% shareholders, as well as entities such persons control, is subject to Sections 22(g) and 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation O promulgated thereunder by the Federal Reserve Board. Among other things, these loans must be made on terms (including interest rates charged and collateral required) substantially the same as those offered to unaffiliated individuals or be made as part of a benefit or compensation program and on terms widely available to employees, and must not involve a greater than normal risk of repayment. In addition, the amount of loans a bank may make to these affiliated persons is based, in part, on the bank’s capital position, and specified approval procedures must be followed in making loans which exceed specified amounts.

Banking subsidiaries of financial and bank holding companies are also subject to federal regulation regarding such matters as reserves, limitations on the nature and amount of loans and investments, issuance or retirement of its own securities, limitations on the payment of dividends and other aspects of banking operations.

Privacy Provisions: Under the GLBA, federal banking regulators adopted rules that limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose non-public information about consumers to non-affiliated third parties. These rules contain extensive provisions on a customer’s right to privacy of non-public personal information. Except in certain cases, an institution may not provide personal information to unaffiliated third parties unless the institution discloses that such information may be disclosed and the customer is given the opportunity to opt out of such disclosure. The privacy provisions of the GLBA affect how consumer information is conveyed to outside vendors. CBI and its subsidiaries are also subject to certain state laws that govern the use and distribution of non-public personal information.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”): The FDIC is an independent federal agency which insures the deposits of federally-insured banks and savings associations up to certain prescribed limits and safeguards the safety and soundness of financial institutions. The general insurance limit is $250,000 per separately insured depositor. This insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

As insurer, the FDIC is authorized to conduct examinations of and to require reporting by insured institutions, including Civista, to prohibit any insured institution from engaging in any activity the FDIC determines to pose a threat to the Deposit Insurance Fund (the “DIF”), and to take enforcement actions against insured institutions. The FDIC may terminate insurance of deposits of any institution if the FDIC finds that the institution has engaged in unsafe and unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC or other regulatory agency.

The FDIC assesses a quarterly deposit insurance premium on each insured institution based on risk characteristics of the institution and may also impose special assessments in emergency situations. The premiums fund the “DIF”. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), the FDIC has established 2.0% as the designated reserve ratio (“DRR”), which is the amount in the DIF as a percentage of all DIF insured deposits. In March 2016, the FDIC adopted final rules designed to meet the statutory minimum DRR of 1.35% by September 30, 2020, the deadline imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act. The Dodd-Frank Act requires the FDIC to offset the effect on institutions with assets of less than $10 billion of the increase in the statutory minimum DRR to 1.35% from the former statutory minimum of 1.15%. Although the FDIC’s new rules reduced assessment rates on all banks, they imposed a surcharge on banks with assets of $10 billion or more to be paid until the DRR reaches 1.35%. The DRR reached 1.36% at September 30, 2018. The rules also provide assessment credits to banks with assets of less than $10 billion for the portion of their assessments that contribute to the increase of the DRR to 1.35%, with such credits to be applied when the DRR is at least 1.38%. The rules further changed the method of determining risk-based assessment rates for established banks with less than $10 billion in assets to better ensure that banks taking on greater risks pay more for deposit insurance than banks that take on less risk.

In addition, all FDIC-insured institutions are required to pay assessments to fund interest payments on bonds issued by the Financing Corporation, which was established by the government to recapitalize a predecessor to the DIF. These assessments will continue until the Financing Corporation bonds mature in 2019.

The FDIC is authorized to prohibit any insured institution from engaging in any activity that poses a serious threat to the insurance fund and may initiate enforcement actions against a bank, after first giving the institution’s primary regulatory authority an opportunity to take such action. The FDIC may also terminate the deposit insurance of any institution that has engaged in or is engaging in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations or has violated any applicable law, order or condition imposed by the FDIC.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The Dodd-Frank Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), which regulates consumer financial products and services and certain financial services providers. The CFPB is authorized to prevent unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices and seeks to ensure consistent enforcement of laws so that consumers have access to fair, transparent and competitive markets for consumer financial products and services. Since it was established the CFPB has exercised extensive rulemaking and interpretive authority.

Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations: Banks are subject to regular examination to ensure compliance with federal consumer protection statutes and regulations, including, but not limited to, the following:

The banking regulators also use their authority under the Federal Trade Commission Act to take supervisory or enforcement action with respect to unfair or deceptive acts or practices by banks that may not necessarily fall within the scope of a specific banking or consumer finance law.

Community Reinvestment Act: The Community Reinvestment Act requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas, including low- and moderate-income areas, consistent with safe and sound banking practice. Under this Act, each institution is required to adopt a statement for each of its market areas describing the depositary institution’s efforts to assist in its community’s credit needs. Depositary institutions are periodically examined for compliance and assigned one of four ratings: outstanding, satisfactory, needs improvement, or substantial noncompliance. The rating assigned to a financial institution is considered in connection with various applications submitted by a financial institution or its holding company to its banking regulators, including applications to acquire another financial institution or to open a new branch office. In addition, all subsidiary banks of a financial holding company must maintain a satisfactory or outstanding rating in order for the financial holding company to avoid limitations on its activities.

USA Patriot Act of 2001: The Uniting and Strengthening of America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“the USA Patriot Act”) gives the United States Government greater powers over financial institutions to combat money laundering and terrorist access to the financial system in our country. The USA Patriot Act requires the Company to establish a program for obtaining identifying information from customers seeking to open new accounts and establish enhanced due diligence policies, procedures and controls designed to detect and report suspicious activity.

Corporate Governance: As mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC has adopted rules and regulations governing, among other matters, corporate governance, auditing and accounting, executive compensation and enhanced and timely disclosure of corporate information. The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) has also adopted corporate governance rules. The Board of Directors of the Company has taken a series of actions to strengthen and improve the Company’s governance practices in light of the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq. The Board of Directors has adopted charters for the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating Committee, as well as a Code of Conduct (Ethics) applicable to all directors, officers and employees of the Company. In addition, in accordance with Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, written certifications by CBI’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are required. These certifications attest that CBI’s quarterly and annual reports filed with the SEC do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact. See Item 9A “Controls and Procedures” in Part II of this Form 10-K for CBI’s evaluation of its disclosure controls and procedures.

Regulation of Bank Subsidiary: As an Ohio chartered bank, Civista is subject to supervision and regulation by the State of Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Financial Institutions (the “ODFI”). In addition, Civista is a member of the Federal Reserve System and, therefore, is subject to supervision and regulation by the Federal Reserve Board. Civista is subject to periodic examinations by the ODFI, and Civista is additionally subject to periodic examinations by the Federal Reserve Board. These examinations are designed primarily for the protection of the depositors of the bank and not shareholders.

Regulatory Capital Requirements: The Federal Reserve Board has adopted risk-based guidelines for financial holding companies and other bank holding companies as well as state member banks, and the FDIC has adopted risk-based capital guidelines for state non-member banks. The guidelines provide a systematic analytical framework which makes regulatory capital requirements sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banking organizations, takes off-balance sheet exposures expressly into account in evaluating capital adequacy, and minimizes disincentives to holding liquid, low-risk assets. Capital levels as measured by these standards are also used to categorize financial institutions for purposes of certain prompt corrective action regulatory provisions.

The risk-based capital guidelines adopted by the federal banking agencies are based on the “International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standard” (Basel I), published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”). In July 2013, the United States banking regulators issued new capital rules applicable to smaller banking organizations which also implement certain of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act (the “Basel III Capital Rules”). Community banking organizations, including CBI and Civista, began transitioning to the new rules on January 1, 2015. The new minimum capital requirements became effective on January 1, 2015, whereas a new capital conservation buffer and deductions from common equity capital phase in from January 1, 2016 through January 1, 2019, and most deductions from common equity tier 1 capital phase in from January 1, 2015 through January 1, 2019.

The Basel III Capital Rules include (a) a minimum common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5%, (b) a minimum Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.0%, (c) a minimum total capital ratio of 8.0%, and (d) a minimum leverage ratio of 4.0%.

Common equity for the common equity tier 1 capital ratio includes common stock (plus related surplus) and retained earnings, plus limited amounts of minority interests in the form of common stock, less the majority of certain regulatory deductions.

Tier 1 capital includes common equity as defined for the common equity tier 1 capital ratio, plus certain non-cumulative preferred stock and related surplus, cumulative preferred stock and related surplus and trust preferred securities that have been grandfathered (but which are not permitted going forward), and limited amounts of minority interests in the form of additional Tier 1 capital instruments, less certain deductions.

Tier 2 capital, which can be included in the total capital ratio, includes certain capital instruments (such as subordinated debt) and limited amounts of the allowance for loan and lease losses, subject to new eligibility criteria, less applicable deductions.

The deductions from common equity tier 1 capital include goodwill and other intangibles, certain deferred tax assets, mortgage-servicing assets above certain levels, gains on sale in connection with a securitization, investments in a banking organization’s own capital instruments and investments in the capital of unconsolidated financial institutions (above certain levels). The deductions phase in from 2015 through 2019.

Under the guidelines, capital is compared to the relative risk related to the balance sheet. To derive the risk included in the balance sheet, one of several risk weights is applied to different balance sheet and off-balance sheet assets, primarily based on the relative credit risk of the counterparty. The capital amounts and classification are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors.

The new rules also place restrictions on the payment of capital distributions, including dividends, and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers if the banking organization does not hold a capital conservation buffer of greater than 2.5 percent composed of common equity tier 1 capital above its minimum risk-based capital requirements, or if its eligible retained income is negative in that quarter and its capital conservation buffer ratio was less than 2.5 percent at the beginning of the quarter. The capital conservation buffer began to phase in starting on January 1, 2016, at 0.625%, and was fully phased in effective January 1, 2019, at 2.5%.

In September 2017, the Federal Reserve Board, along with other bank regulatory agencies, proposed amendments to their capital requirements to simplify certain aspects of the capital rules for community banks, including Civista, in an attempt to reduce the regulatory burden for smaller financial institutions. Because the amendments were proposed with a request for comments and have not been finalized, we do not yet know what effect the final rules will have on Civista and its regulatory capital calculations. In November 2017, the federal bank regulatory agencies extended for community banks the existing capital requirements for certain items that were scheduled to change effective January 1, 2018, in light of the simplification amendments being considered, including extending the existing capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets and certain other items. The intent is to prevent different rules from taking effect while the bank regulatory agencies consider a broader simplification of the capital rules.

In November 2018, the Federal Reserve Board, along with other bank regulatory agencies, proposed a rule that would give community banks, including Civista, the option to calculate a simple leverage ratio, rather than multiple measures of capital adequacy, if they meet certain requirements. Under the proposal, a community bank would be eligible to elect the Community Bank Leverage Ratio ("CBLR") framework if it has less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, limited amounts of certain assets and off-balance sheet exposures, and a CBLR greater than 9.0%. Provided it has a CBLR greater than 9.0%, a qualifying community bank that chooses the proposed framework would be considered to have met the capital ratio requirements to be well capitalized for the agencies' prompt corrective action rules.

The federal banking agencies also adopted a rule providing banking organizations the option to phase in over a three-year period the day-one adverse effects on regulatory capital that may result from the adoption of new current expected credit loss methodology accounting under United States generally accepted accounting principles.

At December 31, 2018, both CBI and Civista were in compliance with all of the regulatory capital requirements to which they are subject. For CBI’s and Civista’s capital ratios, see Note 19 to the Company’s 2018 Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Federal Reserve Board has adopted regulations governing prompt corrective action to resolve the problems of capital deficient and otherwise troubled state-chartered member banks. At each successively lower defined capital category, a bank is subject to more restrictive and numerous mandatory or discretionary regulatory actions or limits, and the Federal Reserve Board has less flexibility in determining how to resolve the problems of the institution. In addition, the Federal Reserve Board generally can downgrade a bank’s capital category,

notwithstanding its capital level, if, after notice and opportunity for hearings, the bank is deemed to be engaged in an unsafe or unsound practice, because it has not corrected deficiencies that resulted in it receiving a less than satisfactory examination rating on matters other than capital or it is deemed to be in an unsafe or unsound condition. Civista’s capital at December 31, 2018, met the standards for the highest capital category, a “well-capitalized” bank.

Federal Reserve Board regulations also limit the payment of dividends by Civista to CBI. Civista may not pay a dividend if it would cause Civista not to meet its capital requirements. In addition, the dividends that Civista may pay to CBI without prior approval of the Federal Reserve Board is limited to net income for the year plus its retained net income for the preceding two years.

In December 2013, five federal agencies adopted a final regulation implementing the Volcker Rule provision of the Dodd-Frank Act (the "Volcker Rule"). The Volcker Rule places limits on the trading activity of insured depository institutions and entities affiliated with a depository institution, subject to certain exceptions. The trading activity includes a purchase or sale as principal of a security, derivative, commodity future or option on any such instruments in order to benefit from short-term price movements or to realize short-term profits. The Volcker Rule exempts specified U.S. Government, agency and/or municipal obligations, and it excepts trading conducted in certain capacities, including as a broker or other agent, through a deferred compensation or pension plan, as a fiduciary on behalf of customers, to satisfy a debt previously contracted, repurchase and securities lending agreements and risk-mitigating hedging activities.

The Volcker Rule also prohibits a banking entity from having an ownership interest in, or substantial relationships with, a hedge fund or private equity fund, with a number of exceptions. To the extent that Civista engages in any of the trading activities or has any ownership interest in or relationship with any of the types of funds regulated by the Volcker Rule, Civista believes that its activities and relationships fall within the scope of one or more of the exceptions provided in the Volcker Rule.

In December 2018, the five federal agencies that adopted the Volcker rule proposed a rule that would exclude community banks, including Civista, from the Volcker rule, consistent with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Under the proposal, community banks with $10 billion or less in total consolidated assets and total trading assets and liabilities of 5.0% or less of total consolidated assets would be excluded from the restrictions of the Volcker Rule. The agencies indicated that they will no longer enforce the Volcker Rule with respect to community banks while the rulemaking is being finalized.

In June 2010, the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC and the FDIC issued joint interagency guidance on incentive compensation policies (“Joint Guidance”) intended to ensure that the incentive compensation policies of banking organizations do not undermine the safety and soundness of such organizations by encouraging excessive risk-taking. This principles-based guidance, which covers all employees that have the ability to materially affect the risk profile of an organization, either individually or as part of a group, is based upon the key principles that a banking organization’s incentive compensation arrangements should (a) provide incentives that do not encourage risk-taking beyond the organization’s ability to effectively identify and manage risks, (b) be compatible with effective internal controls and risk management and (c) be supported by strong corporate governance, including active and effective oversight by the organization’s board of directors.

In 2011, federal banking regulatory agencies jointly issued proposed rules on incentive-based compensation arrangements under applicable provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act (“First Proposed Rules”). The First Proposed Rules generally would have applied to financial institutions with $1.0 billion or more in assets that maintain incentive-based compensation arrangements for certain covered employees.

In May 2016, the federal bank regulatory agencies approved a second joint notice of proposed rules (the “Second Proposed Joint Rules”) designed to prohibit incentive-based compensation arrangements that encourage inappropriate risks at financial institutions. The Second Proposed Joint Rules would apply to covered financial institutions with total assets of $1 billion or more. The requirements of the Second Proposed Joint Rules would differ for each of three categories of financial institutions:

Some of the requirements would apply only to Level 1 and Level 2 institutions. For all covered institutions, including Level 3 institutions like us, the Second Proposed Joint Rules would:

Level 1 and Level 2 institutions would have additional requirements, including deferrals of awards to certain covered persons; potential downward adjustments, forfeitures or clawbacks; and additional risk-management and control standards, policies and procedures. In addition, certain practices and types of incentive compensation would be prohibited.

Pursuant to rules adopted by the stock exchanges and approved by the SEC in January 2013 under the Dodd-Frank Act, public company compensation committee members must meet heightened independence requirements and consider the independence of compensation consultants, legal counsel and other advisors to the compensation committee. A compensation committee must have the authority to hire advisors and to have the public company fund reasonable compensation of such advisors.

Public companies will be required, once stock exchanges impose additional listing requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act, to implement "clawback" procedures for incentive compensation payments and to disclose the details of the procedures which allow recovery of incentive compensation that was paid on the basis of erroneous financial information necessitating a restatement due to material noncompliance with financial reporting requirements. This clawback policy is intended to apply to compensation paid within a three-year look-back window of the restatement and would cover all executives who received incentive awards. The Company has implemented a clawback policy and it is posted under the “Corporate Overview” tab on the “Governance Documents” page of CBI’s Internet website.

SEC regulations require public companies such as CBI to provide various disclosures about executive compensation in annual reports and proxy statements and to present to their shareholders a non-binding vote on the approval of executive compensation.

The earnings of the Company are affected by general and local economic conditions and by the policies of various governmental regulatory authorities. In particular, the Federal Reserve Board regulates money and credit conditions and interest rates to influence general economic conditions, primarily through open market acquisitions or dispositions of United States Government securities, varying the discount rate on member bank borrowings and setting reserve requirements against member and nonmember bank deposits. Federal Reserve Board monetary policies have had a significant effect on the interest income and interest expense of commercial banks, including Civista, and are expected to continue to do so in the future.

CBI maintains an Internet website at www.civb.com (this uniform resource locator, or URL, is an inactive textual reference only and is not intended to incorporate CBI’s website into this Annual Report on Form 10-K). CBI makes available free of charge on or through its Internet website its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), as well as CBI’s definitive proxy statements filed pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after CBI electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC.

The following section contains certain financial disclosures related to the Company as required under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Industry Guide 3, “Statistical Disclosures by Bank Holding Companies”, or a specific reference as to the location of the required disclosures in the Registrant’s 2018 Annual Report to Shareholders, portions of which are incorporated in this Form 10-K by reference.

Average balance sheet information and the related analysis of net interest income for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 is included on pages 12 through 14—“Distribution of Assets, Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity; Interest Rates and Interest Differential” and “Changes in Interest Income and Interest Expense Resulting from Changes in Volume and Changes in Rate”, within Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of the Company’s 2018 Annual Report to Shareholders and is incorporated into this Item I by reference.

The following table sets forth the carrying amount of securities at December 31.

The following tables set forth the maturities of securities at December 31, 2018 and the weighted average yields of such debt securities. Maturities are reported based on stated maturities and do not reflect principal prepayment assumptions.

	Within one year					After one but within five years					After five but within ten years					After ten years
	Amount		Yield			Amount		Yield			Amount		Yield			Amount		Yield
	(Dollars in thousands)
Available for Sale (2)
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of U.S. government agencies	$	8,985		1.42	%	$	13,378		2.26	%	$	1,870		1.51	%	$	6,452		3.07	%
Obligations of states and political subdivisions (1)		1,927		1.74			5,769		3.43			28,653		4.55			135,722		3.47
Mortgage-backed securities in government sponsored entities		2,545	1.74				16,205		2.98			28,874		3.18			95,914		3.23
Total	$	13,457		1.53	%	$	35,352		2.78	%	$	59,397		3.79	%	$	238,088		3.36	%

The amounts of gross loans outstanding at December 31 are shown in the following table according to types of loans.

	2018		2017		2016		2015		2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Commercial and Agriculture	$	177,101	$	152,473	$	135,462	$	124,402	$	113,265
Commercial Real Estate:
Owner occupied		210,121		164,099		161,364		167,897		143,014
Non-owner occupied		523,598		425,623		395,931		348,439		308,666
Residential Real Estate		457,850		268,735		247,308		236,338		214,537
Real Estate Construction		135,195		97,531		56,293		58,898		65,452
Farm Real Estate		38,513		39,461		41,170		46,993		53,973
Consumer and other		19,563		16,739		17,978		18,560		15,950
Total	$	1,561,941	$	1,164,661	$	1,055,506	$	1,001,527	$	914,857

Commercial loans are those made for commercial, industrial and professional purposes to individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and other business enterprises. Agriculture loans are for financing agricultural production, including all costs associated with growing crops or raising livestock. Commercial and Agriculture loans may be secured, other than by real estate, or unsecured, requiring one single repayment or on an installment repayment schedule. Commercial and Agriculture loans involve certain risks relating to changes in local and national economic conditions and the resulting effect on the borrowing entities. Secured loans not collateralized by real estate mortgages maintain a loan-to-value ratio ranging from 50% in the case of certain stocks, to 100% in the case of savings or time deposit accounts. Unsecured credits rely on the financial strength and previous credit experience of the borrower and in many cases the financial strength of the principals when such credit is extended to a corporation.

Commercial Real Estate mortgage loans are made predicated on having a security interest in real property and are secured wholly or substantially by that lien on real property. Commercial Real Estate mortgage loans are generally underwritten with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 80%.

Residential Real Estate mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit are made predicated on security interests in real property and secured wholly or substantially by those liens on real property. Such real estate mortgage loans are primarily loans secured by one-to-four family real estate. Residential Real Estate mortgage loans generally pose less risk to the Company due to the nature of the collateral being less susceptible to sudden changes in value.

Real Estate Construction loans are for the construction of residential homes, new buildings or additions to existing buildings. Generally, these loans are secured by one-to-four family real estate or commercial real estate. The Company controls disbursements in connection with construction loans.

Consumer loans are made to individuals for household, family and other personal expenditures. These expenditures include the purchase of vehicles or furniture, educational expenses, medical expenses, taxes or vacation expenses. Consumer loans may be secured, other than by real estate, or unsecured, generally requiring repayment on an installment repayment schedule. Consumer loans pose a relatively higher credit risk. This higher risk is moderated by the use of certain loan to value limits on secured credits and aggressive collection efforts. The collectability of consumer loans is influenced by local and national economic conditions.

Letters of credit represent extensions of credit granted in the normal course of business, which are not reflected in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company was contingently liable for $1,474 and $3,261, respectively, with respect to outstanding letters of credit. In addition, Civista had issued lines of credit to customers. Borrowings under such lines of credit are usually for the working capital needs of the borrower. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, Civista had commitments to extend credit, excluding letters of credit, in the aggregate amounts of approximately $411,408 and $325,267, respectively. Of these amounts, $374,204 and $291,907 represented lines of credit and construction loans, and $37,204 and $33,360 represented overdraft protection commitments at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Such amounts represent the portion of total commitments that had not been used by customers as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.

The following table shows the amount of commercial and agriculture, commercial real estate, residential real estate, real estate construction, farm real estate and consumer and other loans outstanding as of December 31, 2018, which, based on the contract terms for repayments of principal, are due in the periods indicated. In addition, the amounts due after one year are classified according to their sensitivity to changes in interest rates.

	Maturing
	Within one year		After one but within five years		After five years		Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Commercial and Agriculture	$	63,054	$	71,078	$	42,969	$	177,101
Commercial Real Estate:
Owner Occupied		1,622		21,659		186,840		210,121
Non-Owner Occupied		38,293		94,521		390,784		523,598
Residential Real Estate		1,385		27,753		428,712		457,850
Real Estate Construction		23,299		50,521		61,375		135,195
Farm Real Estate		712		4,641		33,160		38,513
Consumer and Other		3,338		14,260		1,965		19,563
Total	$	131,703	$	284,433	$	1,145,805	$	1,561,941

The preceding maturity information is based on contract terms at December 31, 2018 and does not include any possible “rollover” at maturity date. In the normal course of business, Civista considers and acts on the borrowers’ requests for renewal of loans at maturity. Evaluation of such requests includes a review of the borrower’s credit history, the collateral securing the loan and the purpose for such request.

The following table presents information concerning the amount of loans at December 31 that contain certain risk elements, excluding purchase credit impaired loans.

	2018		2017		2016		2015		2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Loans accounted for on a nonaccrual basis (1)	$	5,869	$	6,132	$	6,943	$	9,259	$	13,558
Loans contractually past due 90 days or more as to principal or interest payments (2)		—		16		9		—		18
Loans whose terms have been renegotiated to provide a reduction or deferral of interest or principal because of deterioration in the financial position of the borrower (3)		3,024		2,888		4,180		5,085		4,928
Total	$	8,893	$	9,036	$	11,132	$	14,344	$	18,504
Impaired loans included in above totals	$	2,857	$	3,460	$	6,539	$	7,386	$	7,101
Impaired loans not included in above totals		—		—		—		99		4,048
Total impaired loans	$	2,857	$	3,460	$	6,539	$	7,485	$	11,149

There were no loans as of December 31, 2018, other than those disclosed above, where known information about probable credit problems of borrowers caused management to have serious doubts as to the ability of such borrowers to comply with the present loan repayment terms. There were no other interest-bearing assets that would be required to be disclosed in the table above, if such assets were loans as of December 31, 2018. The gross interest income that would have been recorded on nonaccrual loans and restructured loans in 2018 if the loans had been current in accordance with their original terms and had been outstanding throughout the period or since origination, if held for part of the period, was $587. The amount of cash-basis interest income on such loans actually included in net income in 2018 was $360.

At December 31, 2018, Civista had two concentrations of loans exceeding 10% of total loans: one to Lessors of Non-Residential Buildings and Dwellings totaling $403,581, or 26.4 percent of total loans, as of December 31, 2018, and the other to Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings totaling $160,839, or 10.5 percent of total loans, as of December 31, 2018.

These segments of the portfolio are stable and have been conservatively underwritten, monitored and managed by experienced commercial bankers. However, the customers’ ability to repay their loans is dependent on the real estate market and general economic conditions in the area. There were no foreign loans outstanding at December 31, 2018.

The following table shows the daily average loan balances and changes in the allowance for loan losses for the years indicated.

	2018			2017			2016			2015			2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Daily average amount of loans net of unearned income	$	1,274,779		$	1,109,069		$	1,025,908		$	981,475		$	874,432
Allowance for loan losses at beginning of year	$	13,134		$	13,305		$	14,361		$	14,268		$	16,528
Loan charge-offs:
Commercial and Agriculture		249			11			880			190			338
Commercial Real Estate—Owner Occupied		193			328			228			523			1,661
Commercial Real Estate—Non-Owner Occupied		153			38			23			81			198
Real Estate Mortgage		105			400			455			1,135			2,449
Real Estate Construction		—			—			115			—			0
Farm Real Estate		—			—			—			—			0
Consumer and Other		203			165			125			120			135
Total charge-offs		903			942			1,826			2,049			4,781
Recoveries of loans previously charged-off:
Commercial and Agriculture		169			372			105			182			251
Commercial Real Estate—Owner Occupied		158			69			56			187			360
Commercial Real Estate—Non-Owner Occupied		28			46			1,372			115			50
Real Estate Mortgage		208			194			479			331			293
Real Estate Construction		—			44			12			5			6
Farm Real Estate		5			3			—			76			—
Consumer and Other		100			43			46			46			61
Total recoveries		668			771			2,070			942			1,021
Net recoveries (charge-offs) (1)		(235	)		(171	)		244			(1,107	)		(3,760	)
Provision (credit) for loan losses (2)		780			—			(1,300	)		1,200			1,500
Allowance for loan losses at year end	$	13,679		$	13,134		$	13,305		$	14,361		$	14,268
Allowance for loan losses as a percent of loans at year-end		0.88	%		1.13	%		1.26	%		1.43	%		1.56	%
Ratio of net charge-offs (recoveries) during the year to average loans outstanding		0.02	%		0.02	%		(0.02	)%		0.11	%		0.43	%

The following table allocates the allowance for loan losses at December 31 to each loan category. The allowance has been allocated according to the amount deemed to be reasonably necessary to provide for the probable losses estimated to be incurred within the following categories of loans at the dates indicated.

	2018					2017
	Allowance		Percentage of loans to total loans			Allowance		Percentage of loans to total loans
	(Dollars in thousands)
Commercial and Agriculture	$	1,747		11.3	%	$	1,562		13.1	%
Commercial Real Estate—Owner Occupied		1,962		13.5			2,043		14.1
Commercial Real Estate—Non-Owner Occupied		5,803		33.5			5,307		36.5
Real Estate Mortgage		1,531		29.3			1,910		23.1
Real Estate Construction		1,046		8.7			834		8.4
Farm Real Estate		397		2.5			430		3.4
Consumer and Other		284		1.2			290		1.4
Unallocated		909		—			758		—
	$	13,679		100.0	%	$	13,134		100.0	%

	2016					2015
	Allowance		Percentage of loans to total loans			Allowance		Percentage of loans to total loans
	(Dollars in thousands)
Commercial and Agriculture	$	2,018		12.8	%	$	1,478		12.4	%
Commercial Real Estate—Owner Occupied		2,171		15.3			2,467		16.8
Commercial Real Estate—Non-Owner Occupied		4,606		37.5			4,657		34.8
Real Estate Mortgage		3,089		23.4			4,086		23.6
Real Estate Construction		420		5.3			371		5.9
Farm Real Estate		442		3.9			538		4.7
Consumer and Other		314		1.7			382		1.9
Unallocated		245		—			382		—
	$	13,305		100.0	%	$	14,361		100.0	%

Civista measures the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses by using both specific and general components. The specific component relates to the evaluation of each loan identified as impaired. The general component consists of a pooling of commercial credits risk graded as special mention and substandard, based on portfolio experience, and general reserves, which are based on a twelve quarter loss migration analysis, adjusted for current economic factors. Loss migration rates are calculated over a twelve quarter period for all portfolio segments. Factors in the determination of the economic reserve include items such as changes in the economic and business conditions of its market, changes in lending policies and procedures, changes in loan concentrations, as well as a few others. The allowance for loan losses to total loans decreased from 1.13% in 2017 to 0.88% in 2018. The unallocated reserve of Civista increased to $909 in 2018 from $758 in 2017. Management considers both the increase in unallocated and the end-of-period number to be insignificant and within the loan policy guidelines.

The average daily amount of deposits (all in domestic offices) and average rates paid on such deposits is summarized for the years indicated.

	2018					2017					2016
	Average balance		Average rate paid			Average balance		Average rate paid			Average balance		Average rate paid
	(Dollars in thousands)
Noninterest-bearing demand deposits	$	466,763	N/A			$	450,648	N/A			$	434,601	N/A
Interest-bearing demand deposits		213,904		0.06	%		189,419		0.06	%		190,965		0.05	%
Savings, including Money Market deposit accounts		471,593		0.28	%		395,799		0.12	%		375,624		0.10	%
Certificates of deposit, including IRA’s		189,600		1.22	%		200,797		0.87	%		209,093		0.73	%
	$	1,341,860				$	1,236,663				$	1,210,283

Maturities of certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts of $100,000 or more outstanding at December 31, 2018 are summarized as follows.

Information required by this section is incorporated herein by reference from the information appearing under the caption “Five-Year Selected Consolidated Financial Data” located on pages 1 and 2 of the 2018 Annual Report. The common share dividend payout ratio was 30.5% in 2018, 16.9% in 2017, 11.2% in 2016, 14.0% in 2015 and 19.2% in 2014.

See Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements (located on page 66 of the 2018 Annual Report) and “Distribution of Assets, Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity; Interest Rates and Interest Differential” (located on pages 12 through 14 of the 2018 Annual Report) for the statistical disclosures for short-term borrowings for 2018, 2017 and 2016.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), relating to such matters as financial condition, anticipated operating results, cash flows, business line results, credit quality expectations, prospects for new lines of business, economic trends (including interest rates) and similar matters. Forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events. These statements are generally identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as “believe,” “belief,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “intent,” “estimate,” “plan,” “foresee,” “likely,” “will,” “should” or other similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in financial markets or national or local economic conditions; adverse changes in the real estate market; volatility and direction of market interest rates; credit risks of lending activities; operational risks; changes in the allowance for loan losses; legislation or regulatory changes or actions; increases in FDIC insurance premiums and assessments; changes in tax laws; accounting changes; inability to raise additional capital if and when needed in the future; unexpected losses of key management; failure, interruption or breach in security of our communications and information systems or those of our third party service providers; unforeseen litigation; increased competition in our market area; failures to manage growth and/or effectively integrate acquisitions, including our recent acquisition of UCB; future revenues of our tax refund program; climate change, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, and other external events; and other risks identified from time-to-time in the Company’s other public documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those risks set forth under Item 1A of Part 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The forward-looking statements included in this report are only made as of the date of this report, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements, and the purpose of this section is to secure the use of the safe harbor provisions.

CHANGES IN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR EARNINGS THROUGH DECLINES IN DEPOSITS, LOAN DEMAND, THE ABILITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO REPAY LOANS AND THE VALUE OF THE COLLATERAL SECURING OUR LOANS.

Our success depends to a significant extent upon local and national economic and political conditions, as well as governmental fiscal and monetary policies. Conditions such as inflation, recession, unemployment, changes in interest rates, money supply and other factors beyond our control can adversely affect our asset quality, deposit levels and loan demand and, therefore, our earnings and our capital. The election of a new United States President in 2016 has resulted, and is expected to continue to result, in substantial, unpredictable changes in economic and political conditions for the United States and the rest of the world. Disruptions in United States and global financial markets and changes in oil production in the Middle East affect the economy and stock prices in the United States, which can affect our earnings and capital and the ability of our customers to repay loans. The timing and circumstances of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (Brexit) and the potential effects on the United States are still unknown. Because we have a significant amount of real estate loans, decreases in real estate values could adversely affect the value of property used as collateral and our ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure. Adverse changes in the economy may also have a negative effect on the ability of our borrowers to make timely repayments of their loans, which would have an adverse impact on our earnings and cash flows.

ADVERSE CHANGES IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET COULD CAUSE INCREASES IN DELINQUENCIES AND NON-PERFORMING ASSETS, INCLUDING ADDITIONAL LOAN CHARGE-OFFS, AND COULD DEPRESS OUR INCOME, EARNINGS AND CAPITAL.

At December 31, 2018, approximately 29.3% and 47.0%, respectively, of our loan portfolio was comprised of residential and commercial real estate loans. Adverse changes in economic conditions both nationally and in the communities we serve have and may to cause deterioration to the value of real estate Civista uses to secure its loans. Adverse changes in the economy, deterioration of our real estate portfolio, a decrease in real estate values, an increase in unemployment, decreased or nonexistent housing price appreciation or increases in interest rates could reduce our earnings and consequently our financial condition because borrowers may not be able to repay their loans. The value of the collateral securing our loans and the quality of our loan portfolio may decline and customers may not want or need our products and services.

Any of these scenarios could cause us to make fewer loans, increase delinquencies and non-performing assets, require us to charge off a higher percentage of our loans or result in additional increases to our provision for loan losses in future periods, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

CHANGES IN INTEREST RATES COULD HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON OUR NET INTEREST INCOME.

Our results of operations are affected principally by net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and interest expense paid on deposits and other borrowings. The spread between the yield on our interest-earning assets and our overall cost of funds has been compressed in the recent low interest rate environment, and our net interest income may continue to be adversely impacted by an extended period of continued low rates. We cannot predict or control changes in interest rates. National, regional and local economic conditions and the policies of regulatory authorities, including monetary policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, affect the movement of interest rates and our interest income and interest expense. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowed funds increase at a faster rate than the interest rates received on loans and other investments, our net interest income, and therefore earnings, could be adversely affected. Earnings could also be adversely affected if the interest rates received on loans and other investments fall more quickly than the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowed funds.

In addition, certain assets and liabilities may react in different degrees to changes in market interest rates. For example, interest rates on some types of assets and liabilities may fluctuate prior to changes in broader market interest rates, while interest rates on other types may lag behind. Some of our assets, such as adjustable rate mortgages, have features that restrict changes in their interest rates, including rate caps.

Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control. Some of these factors include:

Changes in interest rates may affect the level of voluntary prepayments on our loans and may also affect the level of financing or refinancing by customers. We believe that the impact on our cost of funds from a rise in interest rates will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to, the competitive environment in the banking sector for deposit pricing, opportunities for clients to invest in other markets such as fixed income and equity markets, and the propensity of customers to invest in their businesses. The effect on our net interest income from an increase in interest rates will ultimately depend on the extent to which the aggregate impact of loan re-pricings exceeds the impact of increases in our cost of funds.

ADVERSE CHANGES IN FINANCIAL MARKETS MAY ADVERSELY IMPACT OUR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Although we primarily invest in securities issued by United States government agencies and sponsored entities and United States state and local governments with limited credit risk, certain of our investment securities possess higher credit risk since they represent beneficial interests in structured investments collateralized by residential mortgages, debt obligations and other similar assets. Even securities issued by United States government agencies and sponsored entities may entail risk depending on political and economic changes. Regardless of the level of credit risk, all investment securities are subject to changes in market value due to changing interest rates, implied credit spreads and credit ratings.

A transition away from LIBOR as a reference rate for financial contracts could negatively our income and expenses and the value of various financial contracts.

LIBOR is used extensively in the United States and globally as a benchmark for various commercial and financial contracts, including adjustable rate mortgages, corporate debt, interest rate swaps and other derivatives. LIBOR is set based on interest rate information reported by certain banks, which may stop reporting such information after 2021. It is uncertain at this time whether LIBOR will change or cease to exist or the extent to which those entering into financial contracts will transition to any other particular benchmark. Other benchmarks may perform differently than LIBOR or alternative benchmarks have performed in the past or have other consequences that cannot currently be anticipated. It is also uncertain what will happen with instruments that rely on LIBOR for future interest rate adjustments and which remain outstanding if LIBOR ceases to exist.

We are exposed to many types of operational risk, including reputational risk, legal and compliance risk, the risk of fraud or theft by employees or outsiders, unauthorized transactions by employees or operational errors, including clerical or record-keeping errors or those resulting from faulty or disabled computer or telecommunications systems.

We rely heavily on communications and information systems to conduct our business. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan and other systems.

We may be subject to disruptions of our operating systems arising from events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, which may include, for example, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, spikes in transaction volume and/or customer activity, electrical or telecommunications outages, or natural disasters. Although we have programs in place related to business continuity, disaster recovery and information security to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems, business applications and customer information, such disruptions may give rise to interruptions in service to customers, loss of data privacy and loss or liability to us. Any failure or interruption in our operations or information systems, or any security or data breach, could cause reputational damage, jeopardize the confidentiality of customer information, result in a loss of customer business, subject us to regulatory intervention or expose us to civil litigation and financial loss or liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us.

Given the volume of transactions we process, certain errors may be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and successfully rectified. Our necessary dependence upon automated systems to record and process our transaction volume may further increase the risk that technical system flaws or employee tampering or manipulation of those systems will result in losses that are difficult to detect. We may also be subject to disruptions of our operating systems arising from events that are wholly or partially beyond our control (for example, computer viruses or electrical or telecommunications outages), which may give rise to disruption of service to customers and to financial loss or liability. We are further exposed to the risk that our external vendors may be unable to fulfill their contractual obligations (or will be subject to the same risk of fraud or operational errors by their respective employees as we are) and to the risk that our (or our vendors’) business continuity and data security systems prove to be inadequate.

Negative public opinion can result from our actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities, including lending practices, corporate governance and acquisitions, and from actions taken by governmental regulators and community organizations in response to those activities. Negative public opinion can adversely affect our ability to attract and keep customers and can expose us to potential litigation and regulatory action.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF SENSITIVE OR CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT INFORMATION OR BREACHES IN SECURITY OF OUR SYSTEMS, COULD SEVERELY HARM OUR BUSINESS.

As part of our financial institution business, we collect, process and store sensitive consumer data by utilizing computer systems and telecommunications networks operated by both us and third-party service providers. Our necessary dependence upon automated systems to record and process transactions poses the risk that technical system flaws, employee errors, tampering or manipulation of those systems, or attacks by third parties will result in losses and may be difficult to detect. We have security and backup and recovery systems in place, as well as a business continuity plan, to ensure the computer systems will not be inoperable, to the extent possible. Our inability to use or access these information systems at critical points in time could unfavorably impact the timeliness and efficiency of our business operations. In recent years, some banks have experienced denial of service attacks in which individuals or organizations flood the bank's website with extraordinarily high volumes of traffic, with the goal and effect of

disrupting the ability of the bank to process transactions. We could be adversely affected if one of our employees causes a significant operational break-down or failure, either as a result of human error or where an individual purposefully sabotages or fraudulently manipulates our operations or systems. We are further exposed to the risk that the third-party service providers may be unable to fulfill their contractual obligations (or will be subject to the same risks as faced by us). These disruptions may interfere with service to our customers, cause additional regulatory scrutiny and result in a financial loss or liability.

Misconduct by employees could include fraudulent, improper or unauthorized activities on behalf of clients or improper use of confidential information. We may not be able to prevent employee errors or misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect this type of activity might not be effective in all cases. Employee errors or misconduct could subject us to civil claims for negligence or regulatory enforcement actions, including fines and restrictions on our business.

In addition, there have been instances where financial institutions have been victims of fraudulent activity in which criminals pose as customers to initiate wire and automated clearinghouse transactions out of customer accounts. The recent massive breach of the systems of a credit bureau presents additional threats as criminals now have more information about a larger portion of our country's population than past breaches have involved, which could be used by criminals to pose as customers initiating transfers of money from customer accounts. Although we have policies and procedures in place to verify the authenticity of our customers, we cannot assure that such policies and procedures will prevent all fraudulent transfers. Such activity can result in financial liability and harm to our reputation.

We have implemented security controls to prevent unauthorized access to the computer systems and require our third-party service providers to maintain similar controls. However, we cannot be certain that these measures will be successful. A security breach of our computer systems and loss of confidential information, such as customer account numbers and related information, could result in a loss of customers’ confidence and, thus, loss of business. In addition, unauthorized access to or use of sensitive data could subject us to litigation and liability and costs to prevent further such occurrences.

Further, we may be impacted by data breaches at retailers and other third parties who participate in data interchanges with us and our customers that involve the theft of customer credit and debit card data, which may include the theft of our debit card PIN numbers and commercial card information used to make purchases at such retailers and other third parties. Such data breaches could result in us incurring significant expenses to reissue debit cards and cover losses, which could result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our assets at risk for cyber-attacks include financial assets and non-public information belonging to customers. We use several third-party vendors who have access to our assets via electronic media. Certain cyber security risks arise due to this access, including cyber espionage, blackmail, ransom, and theft. As cyber and other data security threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify and enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any security vulnerabilities.

All of the types of cyber incidents discussed above could result in damage to our reputation, loss of customer business, costs of incentives to customers or business partners in order to maintain their relationships, litigation, increased regulatory scrutiny and potential enforcement actions, repairs of system damage, increased investments in cybersecurity (such as obtaining additional technology, making organizational changes, deploying additional personnel, training personnel and engaging consultants), increased insurance premiums, and loss of investor confidence and a reduction in the price of our common shares, all of which could result in financial loss and material adverse effects on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our business could be adversely affected through third parties who perform significant operational services on our behalf.

The third parties performing operational services for the Company are subject to risks similar to those faced by the Company relating to cybersecurity, breakdowns or failures of their own systems, or misconduct of their employees. Like many other community banks, Civista also relies, in significant part, on a single vendor for the systems which allow Civista to provide banking services to Civista’s customers, for which the systems are maintained on Civista’s behalf by this single vendor.

One or more of the third parties utilized by us may experience a cybersecurity event or operational disruption and, if any such event does occur, it may not be adequately addressed, either operationally or financially, by such third party. Certain of these third parties may have limited indemnification obligations to us in the event of a cybersecurity event or operational disruption, or may not have the financial capacity to satisfy their indemnification obligations.

Financial or operational difficulties of a third party provider could also impair our operations if those difficulties interfere with such third party’s ability to serve the Company. If a critical third-party provider is unable to meet the needs of the Company in a timely manner, or if the services or products provided by such third party are terminated or otherwise delayed and if the Company is not able to develop alternative sources for these services and products quickly and cost-effectively, our business could be materially adversely effected.

Additionally, regulatory guidance adopted by federal banking regulators addressing how banks select, engage and manage their third-party relationships, affects the circumstances and conditions under which we work with third parties and the cost of managing such relationships.

WE MAY ELECT OR NEED TO RAISE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL IN THE FUTURE, BUT CAPITAL MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE WHEN IT IS NEEDED.

We are required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations. In addition, federal banking agencies have recently finalized extensive changes to their capital requirements, including the adoption of the final “Basel III” rules as discussed above, which result in higher capital requirements and more restrictive leverage and liquidity ratios than those previously in place. If we experience significant loan losses, addition capital may need to be infused. In addition, we may elect to raise additional capital to support business growth and/or to finance acquisitions, if any, or we may otherwise elect or be required to raise additional capital. Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on conditions in the capital markets, economic conditions and a number of other factors, many of which are outside our control, and are based on our financial performance. Accordingly, we cannot be assured of our ability to raise additional capital if needed or on terms acceptable to us. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

STRONG COMPETITION WITHIN OUR MARKET AREA MAY REDUCE OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN DEPOSITS AND ORIGINATE LOANS.

We face competition both in originating loans and in attracting deposits within our market area, which includes North Central, West Central, South Western Ohio, South Eastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky. We compete for clients by offering personal service and competitive rates on our loans and deposit products. The type of institutions we compete with include large regional financial institutions, community banks, thrifts and credit unions operating within our market areas. Nontraditional sources of competition for loan and deposit dollars come from captive auto finance companies, mortgage banking companies, internet banks, brokerage companies, insurance companies and direct mutual funds. As a result of their size and ability to achieve economies of scale, certain of our competitors offer a broader range of products and services than we offer. We expect competition to remain intense in the future as a result of legislative, regulatory and technological changes and the continuing trend of consolidation in the financial services industry. In addition, to stay competitive in our markets we may need to adjust the interest rates on our products to match the rates offered by our competitors, which could adversely affect our net interest margin. As a result, our profitability depends upon our continued ability to successfully compete in our market areas while achieving our investment objectives.

LEGISLATIVE OR REGULATORY CHANGES OR ACTIONS COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT OUR BUSINESS.

The financial services industry is extensively regulated. We are subject to extensive state and federal regulation, supervision and legislation that govern almost all aspects of our operations. These laws and regulations are primarily intended for the protection of consumers, depositors, borrowers and the deposit insurance fund, not to benefit our shareholders. Changes to laws and regulations or other actions by regulatory agencies may negatively impact us, possibly limiting the services we provide, increasing the ability of non-banks to compete with us or requiring us to change the way we operate. Regulations affecting banks and other financial services businesses are undergoing continuous changes. Recently, the current United States President and certain legislators have taken steps to make extensive changes to regulations affecting financial institutions. While such changes are generally intended to lessen the regulatory burden for financial institutions, we cannot predict the impact of any such changes to laws and regulations or other actions. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the ability to impose restrictions on the operation of an institution and the ability to determine the adequacy of an institution’s allowance for loan losses. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and policies could result in sanctions being imposed by the regulatory agencies, including the imposition of civil money penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. Even the reduction of regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on us if such lessening of restrictions increases competition within our industry or market areas.

In light of conditions in the global financial markets and the global economy that occurred in the last decade, regulators increased their focus on the regulation of the financial services industry. In the last several years, the United States Congress and the federal bank regulators have acted on an unprecedented scale in responding to the stresses experienced in the global financial markets. Some of the laws enacted by Congress and regulations promulgated by federal bank regulators subject us and other financial institutions to additional restrictions, oversight and costs that may have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations. In addition to laws, regulations and supervisory and enforcement actions directed at the operations of banks, proposals to reform the housing finance market contemplate winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which could negatively affect our sales of loans.

In July 2013, our primary federal regulator, the Federal Reserve, published final rules (the “Basel III Capital Rules”) establishing a new comprehensive capital framework for U.S. banking organizations. The Basel III Capital Rules substantially revise the risk-based capital requirements applicable to financial holding companies and other bank holding companies as well as depository institutions, including CBI and Civista, compared to the previous United States risk-based capital rules. The Basel III Capital Rules define the components of capital and address other issues affecting the numerator in banking institutions’ regulatory capital ratios and also address risk weights and other issues affecting the denominator in banking institutions’ regulatory capital ratios. Although CBI and Civista are in compliance with the Basel III Capital rules, any future changes to capital requirements could have a material impact on the Company.

DEPOSIT INSURANCE PREMIUMS MAY INCREASE AND HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THE COMPANY’S RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

The DIF maintained by the FDIC to resolve bank failures is funded by fees assessed on insured depository institutions. The costs of resolving bank failures increased for a period of time and decreased the DIF. The FDIC collected a special assessment in 2009 to replenish the DIF and also required a prepayment of an estimated amount of future deposit insurance premiums. If the costs of future bank failures increase, the deposit insurance premiums required to be paid by Civista may also increase. The FDIC recently adopted rules revising its assessments in a manner benefitting banks with assets totaling less than $10 billion. There can be no assurance, however, that assessments will not be changed in the future.

OUR ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN LOSSES MAY PROVE TO BE INSUFFICIENT TO ABSORB POTENTIAL LOSSES IN OUR LOAN PORTFOLIO.

We maintain an allowance for loan losses that we believe is a reasonable estimate of known and inherent losses within the loan portfolio. We make various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of loans. Through a periodic review and consideration of the loan portfolio, management determines the amount of the allowance for loan losses by considering general market conditions, the credit quality of the loan portfolio, the collateral supporting the loans and the performance of customers relative to their financial obligations with us. However, every loan we make carries a risk of non-payment. This risk is affected by, among other things, cash flow of the borrower and/or the project being financed, changes and uncertainties as to the future value of the collateral securing such loan, the credit history of the particular borrower, changes in economic and industry conditions, and the duration of the loan.

The amount of future losses is also susceptible to changes in economic, operating and other conditions, including changes in interest rates, which may be beyond our control, and these losses may exceed current estimates. We cannot fully predict the amount or timing of losses or whether the allowance for loan losses will be adequate in the future. If our assumptions prove to be incorrect, our allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in our loan portfolio, resulting in additions to the allowance, which would adversely affect our earnings. Excessive loan losses and significant additions to our allowance for loan losses could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, bank regulators periodically review our allowance for loan losses and may require us to increase our allowance for loan losses or recognize further loan charge-offs. Moreover, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") has changed its requirements for establishing the allowance for loan losses.

On June 16, 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2016-13 "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses", which replaces the incurred loss model with an expected loss model, and is referred to as the current expected credit loss ("CECL") model. Under the incurred loss model, loans are recognized as impaired when there is no longer an assumption that future cash flows will be collected in full under the originally contracted terms. The new

accounting guidance is effective for annual reporting periods and interim reporting periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2019. Under the CECL model, financial institutions will be required to use historical information, current conditions and reasonable forecasts to estimate the expected loss over the life of the loan. The transition to the CECL model will bring with it significantly greater data requirements and changes to methodologies to accurately account for expected losses under the new parameters.

Any increase in our allowance for loan losses or loan charge-offs as required by these regulatory authorities could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

OUR BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL RESULTS ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CREDITWORTHINESS OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND COUNTERPARTIES.

Credit risk is inherent in the financial services business and results from, among other things, extending credit to customers, purchasing securities, and entering into financial derivative transactions and certain guarantee contracts. Credit risk is one of our most significant risks, particularly given the high percentage of our assets represented directly or indirectly by loans, and the importance of lending to our overall business. We manage credit risk by assessing and monitoring the creditworthiness of our customers and counterparties and by diversifying our loan portfolio. Many factors impact credit risk.

A borrower’s ability to repay a loan can be adversely affected by individual factors, such as business performance, job losses or health issues. A weak or deteriorating economy and changes in the United States or global markets also could adversely impact the ability of our borrowers to repay outstanding loans. Any decrease in our borrowers’ ability to repay loans would result in higher levels of nonperforming loans, net charge-offs, and provision for loan losses.

Despite maintaining a diversified loan portfolio, in the ordinary course of business, we may have concentrated credit exposure to a particular person or entity, industry, region or counterparty. Events adversely affecting specific customers, industries, regions or markets, a decrease in the credit quality of a customer base or an adverse change in the risk profile of a market, industry, or group of customers could adversely affect us.

Our credit risk may be exacerbated when collateral held by us to secure obligations to us cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices that are not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure due us.

Due in part to improvement in local and general economic conditions, as well as actions we have taken to manage our loan portfolio, our provision for loan losses has declined since the end of the recent recession. However, if we experience higher levels of provision for loan losses in the future, our net income could be negatively affected.

We are subject to extensive federal, state and local taxes, including income, excise, sales/use, payroll, franchise, withholding and ad valorem taxes. Changes to our taxes could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, our customers are subject to a wide variety of federal, state and local taxes. Changes in taxes paid by our customers may adversely affect their ability to purchase homes or consumer products, which could adversely affect their demand for our loans and deposit products. In addition, such negative effects on our customers could result in defaults on the loans we have made and decrease the value of mortgage-backed securities in which we have invested.

On December 22, 2017, H.R.1, formally known as the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," was enacted into law. This new tax legislation, among other changes, limits the amount of state, federal and local taxes that taxpayers are permitted to deduct on their individual tax returns and eliminates other deductions in their entirety. Such limits and eliminations may result in customer defaults on loans we have made and decrease the value of mortgage-backed securities in which we have invested.

Accounting changes could impact our reported financial condition or results of operations.

The accounting standard setters, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC and other regulatory bodies, periodically change the financial accounting and reporting guidance that governs the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. The pace of change continues to accelerate and changes in accounting standards can be hard to predict and could materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply new or revised guidance retroactively, resulting in the restatement of prior period financial statements.

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make significant estimates that affect the financial statements. Due to the inherent nature of these estimates, actual results may vary materially from management’s estimates. In June 2016, FASB issued a new accounting standard for recognizing current expected credit losses, commonly referred to as CECL. CECL will result in earlier recognition of credit losses and requires consideration of not only past and current events but also reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect collectability. The Company will be required to comply with the new standard in the first quarter of 2020. Upon adoption of CECL, credit loss allowances may increase, which would decrease retained earnings and regulatory capital. The federal banking regulators have adopted a regulation that will allow banks to phase in the day-one impact of CECL on regulatory capital over three years. CECL implementation poses operational risk, including the failure to properly transition internal processes or systems, which could lead to call report errors, financial misstatements, or operational losses.

WE RELY HEAVILY ON OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM, AND THE UNEXPECTED LOSS OF KEY MANAGEMENT MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR OPERATIONS.

Our success to date has been strongly influenced by our ability to attract and to retain senior management experienced in banking in the markets we serve. Our ability to retain executive officers and the current management teams will continue to be important to successful implementation of our strategies. The unexpected loss of services of any key management personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

WE NEED TO CONSTANTLY UPDATE OUR TECHNOLOGY IN ORDER TO COMPETE AND MEET CUSTOMER DEMANDS.

The financial services market, including banking services, is undergoing rapid changes with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. In addition to better serving customers, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and may enable us to reduce costs. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to use technology to provide products and services that provide convenience to customers and to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements. We may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers.

WE MAY BE THE SUBJECT OF LITIGATION WHICH COULD RESULT IN LEGAL LIABILITY AND DAMAGE TO OUR BUSINESS AND REPUTATION.

From time to time, we may be subject to claims or legal action from customers, employees or others. Financial institutions like CBI and Civista are facing a growing number of significant class actions, including those based on the manner of calculation of interest on loans and the assessment of overdraft fees. Future litigation could include claims for substantial compensatory and/or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. We are also involved from time to time in other reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by governmental and other agencies regarding our business. These matters also could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions or other relief. Like other large financial institutions, we are also subject to risk from potential employee misconduct, including non-compliance with policies and improper use or disclosure of confidential information. Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against us could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations and/or cause significant reputational harm to our business.

Climate change, severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism and other external events could significantly impact our business.

Natural disasters, including severe weather events of increasing strength and frequency due to climate change, acts of war or terrorism, and other adverse external events could have a significant impact on our ability to conduct business or upon third parties who perform operational services for us or our customers. Such events could affect the stability of our deposit base, impair the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans, impair the value of collateral securing loans, cause significant property damage, result in lost revenue or cause us to incur additional expenses.

WE DEPEND UPON THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF INFORMATION ABOUT CUSTOMERS AND OTHER PARTIES.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with customers and counterparties, we may rely on information provided to us by customers and other parties, including financial statements and other financial information. We may also rely on representations of customers and counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information and, with respect to financial statements, on reports of independent auditors. For example, in deciding whether to extend credit to a business, we may assume that the customer’s audited financial statements conform with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and present fairly, in all material respects, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the customer. We may also rely on the audit report covering those financial statements. Our financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted to the extent we rely on financial statements that do not comply with generally accepted accounting principles or that are materially misleading, or on other financial information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

WE COULD FACE LEGAL AND REGULATORY RISK ARISING OUT OF OUR RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE BUSINESS.

Numerous federal and state governmental, legislative and regulatory authorities are investigating practices in the business of mortgage and home equity loan lending and servicing and in the mortgage-related insurance and reinsurance industries. We could face the risk of class actions, other litigation and claims from: the owners of or purchasers of such loans originated or serviced by us, homeowners involved in foreclosure proceedings or various mortgage-related insurance programs, downstream purchasers of homes sold after foreclosure, title insurers, and other potential claimants. Included among these claims are claims from purchasers of mortgage and home equity loans seeking the repurchase of loans where the loans allegedly breached origination covenants and representations and warranties made to the purchasers in the purchase and sale agreements. The CFPB has issued new rules for mortgage origination and mortgage servicing. Both the origination and servicing rules create new private rights of action for consumers against lenders and servicers in the event of certain violations.

WE MAY BE REQUIRED TO REPURCHASE LOANS WE HAVE SOLD OR INDEMNIFY LOAN PURCHASERS UNDER THE TERMS OF THE SALE AGREEMENTS, WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR LIQUIDITY, RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

When Civista sells a mortgage loan, it agrees to repurchase or substitute a mortgage loan if it is later found to have breached any representation or warranty Civista made about the loan or if the borrower is later found to have committed fraud in connection with the origination of the loan. While we have underwriting policies and procedures designed to avoid breaches of representations and warranties as well as borrower fraud, there can be no assurance that no breach or fraud will ever occur. Required repurchases, substitutions or indemnifications could have an adverse effect on our liquidity, results of operations and financial statements.

WE DO NOT HAVE ASSURANCE REGARDING THE FUTURE REVENUES OF OUR TAX REFUND PROGRAM.

The revenues from our tax refund program are based upon a contract with a third party. While the contract has a term of three years expiring October 31, 2019 and contains provisions for automatic renewal after that term, the amount to be paid to us is not fixed for any period after 2017. As a result, the amount paid to us may fluctuate after 2017, and there is no assurance that the parties will be able to negotiate compensation that is acceptable to us after that year.

We could experience difficulties managing our growth and effectively integrating the operations of UCB, which may negatively affect the market price of o common shares and have an impact on United Community’s employees and customers.

On September 14, 2018, CBI completed the acquisition by merger of UCB. Immediately following the merger, UCB’s banking subsidiary, United Community Bank, was merged with and into Civista. As a result of the merger, we acquired eight offices of UCB in the Indiana communities of Lawrenceburg (3), Aurora, West Harrison, Milan, Osgood and Versailles and a loan production office in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

The earnings, financial condition and prospects of Civista after the UCB merger will depend in part on our ability to integrate successfully the operations of UCB and United Community and continue to implement our business plan. We may not be able to fully achieve our strategic objectives and projected operating efficiencies. The costs and/or challenges involved in integrating UCB and United Community with our organization may be greater than expected or the cost savings from anticipated economies of scale of the combined organization may be lower or take longer to realize than expected. I nherent uncertainties exist in integrating the operations of an acquired entity. The success of the UCB merger will depend on a number of factors, including, without limitation:

While we believe that the initial transaction and integration has been successful thus far, we may encounter future difficulties, including, but not limited to, loss of key employees and customers, disruption of our ongoing business, or possible inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures, and policies. These factors could contribute to the Company not fully achieving the anticipated benefits of the UCB merger.

FUTURE ACQUISITIONS OR OTHER EXPANSION MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULT OF OPERATIONS.

In the future, we may acquire other financial institutions or branches or assets of other financial institutions. We may also open new branches, enter into new lines of business, or offer new products or services. Any such acquisition or expansion of our business will involve a number of expenses and risks, which may include some or all of the following:

We may incur substantial costs to expand, and we can give no assurance that such expansion will result in the levels of profits we expect. Neither can we assure that integration efforts for any future acquisitions will be successful. We may issue equity securities in connection with acquisitions, which could dilute the economic and voting interests of our existing shareholders.

As a financial holding company, we are a legal entity separate and distinct from our subsidiaries and affiliates. Our principal source of funds to support our operations, pay dividends on our common and preferred shares and service our debt is dividends from our subsidiary bank, Civista. In the event that Civista is unable to pay dividends to us, we may not be able to service our debt, pay our other obligations or pay dividends on our common or preferred shares. Accordingly, our inability to receive dividends from Civista could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Various federal and state statutory provisions and regulations limit the amount of dividends that Civista may pay to us without regulatory approval. Generally, subject to certain minimum capital requirements, Civista may declare a dividend without the approval of the State of Ohio Division of Financial Institutions so long as the total amount of the dividends in a calendar year does not exceed Civista’s total net income for that year combined with its retained net income for the two preceding years. In addition, the Federal Reserve has issued policy statements that provide that insured banks and bank holding companies should generally only pay dividends out of current operating earnings. Thus, the ability of Civista to pay dividends in the future is currently influenced, and could be further influenced, by bank regulatory policies and capital guidelines and may restrict our ability to declare and pay dividends on our common or preferred shares.

THE MARKET PRICE OF OUR COMMON SHARES MAY BE SUBJECT TO FLUCTUATIONS AND VOLATILITY.

The market price of our common shares may fluctuate significantly due to, among other things, changes in market sentiment regarding our operations or business prospects, the banking industry generally or the macroeconomic outlook. Factors that could impact our trading price include:

Equity markets in general and our common shares in particular have experienced considerable volatility over the past few years. The market price of our common shares may continue to be subject to volatility unrelated to our operating performance or business prospects. Increased volatility could result in a decline in the market price of our common shares.

THE SALE OF SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF OUR COMMON SHARES OR SECURITIES CONVERTIBLE INTO OUR COMMON SHARES IN THE PUBLIC MARKET COULD DEPRESS THE PRICE OF OUR COMMON SHARES.

In recent years, the stock market has experienced a high level of price and volume volatility, and market prices for the stock of many companies have experienced wide fluctuations that have not necessarily been related to their operating performance. Therefore, our shareholders may not be able to sell their shares at the volumes, prices, or times that they desire. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that future sales of our common shares or securities convertible into our common shares in the market, or availability of shares of our common shares or securities convertible into our common shares for sale in the market, will have on the market price of our common shares. We can give no assurance that sales of substantial amounts of our common shares or securities convertible into our common shares in the market, or the potential for large amounts of sales in the market, would not cause the price of our securities to decline or impair our ability to raise capital through sales of our common shares.

CBI neither owns nor leases any properties. Civista owns its main office at 100 East Water Street, Sandusky, Ohio, which is also the office of CBI. Civista also owns branch banking offices in the following Ohio and Indiana communities: Sandusky (2), Norwalk, Berlin Heights, Castalia, Port Clinton, New Washington, Shelby (2), Greenwich, Plymouth, Shiloh, Dublin, Plain City, Russells Point, Urbana (2), Dayton (2), Quincy, Lawrenceburg (3), Aurora, West Harrison, Milan, Osgood and Versailles. Civista leases branch banking offices in the Ohio communities of Akron, Huron, Norwalk, West Liberty, Dayton and Willard. Civista also leases loan production offices in Mayfield Heights and Westlake, Ohio and Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

In the ordinary course of their respective businesses, CBI or Civista or their respective properties may be named or otherwise subject as a plaintiff, defendant or other party to various pending and threatened legal proceedings and various actual and potential claims. In view of the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of such matters, CBI cannot state what the eventual outcome of any such matters will be. However, based on current knowledge and after consultation with legal counsel, management believes these proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity of CBI.

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Information regarding the market in which CBI’s common shares are traded, the prices at which such shares have traded and dividend information is incorporated herein by reference from the information appearing under the caption “Common Shares and Shareholder Matters” located on page 3 of the 2018 Annual Report.

As of February 19, 2019, there were approximately 1,507 shareholders of record (not including the number of persons or entities holding stock in nominee or street name through various brokerage firms) of the Company’s common shares.

Information regarding the restrictions applicable to the Company’s payment of dividends is included under Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

The Company did not repurchase any of its common shares during the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018.

Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the information appearing under the caption “Five-Year Selected Consolidated Financial Data” located on pages 1 and 2 of the 2018 Annual Report.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation

Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the information appearing under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” located on pages 4 through 17 of the 2018 Annual Report.

Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the disclosures included under the caption “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” on pages 17 through 19 of the 2018 Annual Report.

Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Report of Independent Auditors and Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes are listed below and are incorporated herein by reference from pages 23 through 87 of the 2018 Annual Report (included as Exhibit 13.1 hereto). The supplementary financial information specified by Item 302 of Regulation S-K, is included in Note 23 - “Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)” to the consolidated financial statements found on page 84 of the 2018 Annual Report.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

The Company has had no disagreements with its independent accountants on matters of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure required to be reported under this Item.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Principal Accounting Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act, as of the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Accounting Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2018, were effective.

The “Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting” and the “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control over Financial Reporting” located on pages 21 through 22 of the 2018 Annual Report are incorporated herein by reference.

There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2018 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

There was no information the Company was required to disclose in a current report on Form 8-K during the fourth quarter of 2018 that was not reported.

The information contained under the captions “Proposal 1 - Election of Directors”, “Executive Officers of the Corporation”, “Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares of the Corporation - Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance”, “Board of Director Meetings and Committees – Audit Committee”, “Corporate Governance - Code of Ethics” and “Corporate Governance – Nominating Procedure” in the 2019 Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item.

The information contained under the captions “Executive Compensation”, “2018 Compensation of Directors” and “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation” in the 2019 Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

The information contained under the caption “Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares of the Company” in the 2019 Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item.

The following table shows the number of common shares remaining available for awards under the 2014 Incentive Plan at December 31, 2018.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

The information contained under the caption “Corporate Governance-Director Independence” and “Corporate Governance-Transactions with Directors, Officers and Associates” in the 2019 Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item.

The information contained under the caption “Audit Committee Matters” of the 2019 Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item.

Exhibit	Description	Location
2.1	Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated March 11, 2018 by and between Civista Bancshares, Inc., Civista Bank, United Community Bancorp and United Community Bank	Filed as Exhibit 2.1 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated and filed on March 12, 2018 and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 001-36192)
3.1	Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of Civista Bancshares, Inc., as filed with the Ohio Secretary of State on November 15, 2018	Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated and filed on November 16, 2018 and incorporated herein by reference (File No. 001-36192)
3.2	Amended and Restated Code of Regulations of Civista Bancshares, Inc. (adopted April 15, 2008).	Filed as Exhibit 3.2 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2017, filed on November 8, 2017 and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 001-36192)
4.3	Form of Certificate for 6.50% Noncumulative Redeemable Convertible Perpetual Preferred Shares, Series B, of Civista Bancshares, Inc.	Filed as Exhibit 4.2 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Pre-Effective Amendment No.1 to Form S-1 Registration Statement filed November 1, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 333-191169)
4.4	Form of Depositary Receipt for Depositary Shares, each representing 1/40^th of a 6.50% Noncumulative Redeemable Convertible Perpetual Preferred Share, Series B, of Civista Bancshares, Inc.	Filed as Exhibit 4.3 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Pre-Effective Amendment No.1 to Form S-1 Registration Statement filed November 1, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 333-191169)
4.5	Deposit Agreement dated December 1, 2013, among Civista Bancshares, Inc., Illinois Stock Transfer Company, as Depositary, and the holders from time to time of Depositary Receipts thereunder.	Filed as Exhibit 4.4 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Pre-Effective Amendment No.1 to Form S-1 Registration Statement filed November 1, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 333-191169)
4.6	Agreement to furnish instrument and agreements defining rights of holders of long-term debt.	Included herewith.
10.1*	Form of Change of Control Agreement by and among Civista Bancshares, Inc., Civista Bank and certain executive officers.	Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated and filed on October 29, 2015 and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 001-36192).
10.2*	Form of Pension Shortfall Agreement by and among Civista Bancshares, Inc., Civista Bank and certain executive officers.	Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated and filed on October 29, 2015 and incorporated herein by reference. (File No. 001-36192).
10.3*	Supplemental Nonqualified Executive Retirement Plan	Filed as Exhibit 10.12 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed on March 15, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference (File No. 0-25980).
10.4*	Amendment to Supplemental Nonqualified Executive Retirement Plan	Filed as Exhibit 10.13 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed on March 15, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference (File No. 0-25980).
10.5*	Second Amendment to Supplemental Nonqualified Executive Retirement Plan	Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2016, filed on August 9, 2016 and incorporated herein by reference (File No. 1-36192)
10.6*	2018 Amendment to Supplemental Nonqualified Executive Retirement Plan	Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Civista Bancshares, Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2018, filed on August 8, 2018 (File No. 1-36192).

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed on March 15, 2019 by the following persons (including a majority of the Board of Directors of the Registrant) in the capacities indicated:

Ohio			34-1558688
State or other jurisdiction of			(IRS Employer
incorporation or organization			Identification No.)

	2018		2017		2016
	(Dollars in thousands)
Available for sale (1)
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of U.S. Government agencies	$	30,685	$	30,358	$	37,446
Obligations of states and political subdivisions		172,071		118,056		94,998
Mortgage-backed securities in government sponsored entities		143,538		81,816		62,642
Total debt securities	$	346,294	$	230,230	$	195,086

	Interest Sensitivity
	Fixed rate		Variable rate
	(Dollars in thousands)
Due after one but within five years	$	120,618	$	163,816
Due after five years		182,935		962,869
	$	303,553	$	1,126,685

	Certificates of Deposits		Individual Retirement Accounts		Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
3 months or less	$	15,413	$	1,213	$	16,626
Over 3 through 6 months		17,778		2,276		20,054
Over 6 through 12 months		25,191		2,943		28,134
Over 12 months		34,348		10,613		44,961
	$	92,730	$	17,045	$	109,775

Equity Compensation Plan Information
Plan category	(a) Number of Common Shares to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (a)		(b) Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b)		(c) Number of Common Shares remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding common shares reflected in column (a) )
Equity compensation plans approved by shareholders		—		—		269,168
Equity compensation plans not approved by shareholders		—		—		—
Total		—		—		269,168

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☒

Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☒
Emerging Growth Company	☐

Part I

Item 1.	Business	3

Item 1A.	Risk Factors	19

Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	30

Item 2.	Properties	30

Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	30

Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	30

Part II

Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	31

Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	31

Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	32

Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	32

Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	32

Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	33

Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	33

Item 9B.	Other Information	33

Part III

Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	34

Item 11.	Executive Compensation	34

Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	34

Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	34

Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	34

Part IV

Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	35

Item 16	Form 10-K Summary	37

Signatures		38

(Registrant) Civista Bancshares, Inc.

By		/s/ Dennis G. Shaffer
		Dennis G. Shaffer, President & CEO (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Thomas A. Depler		/s/ Allen R. Nickles, CPA , CFE , FCPA , CFF , CICA
Thomas A. Depler, Director		Allen R. Nickles, CPA , CFE , FCPA , CFF , CICA , Director

/s/ Allen R. Maurice		/s/ Julie A. Mattlin
Allen R. Maurice, Director		Julie A. Mattlin, Director

/s/ Todd A. Michel		/s/ M. Patricia Oliver
Todd A. Michel, Senior Vice President,		M. Patricia Oliver, Director
(Principal Accounting Officer)

/s/ James O. Miller		/s/ Daniel J. White
James O. Miller, Chairman of the Board		Daniel J. White, Director

/s/ Dennis E. Murray, Jr.		/s/ Dennis G. Shaffer
Dennis E. Murray, Jr., Director		Dennis G. Shaffer, President & CEO, (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ William F. Ritzmann
William F. Ritzmann, Director