The purpose of this discussion is to focus on significant changes in the financial condition and results of operations of the Company during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. The following discussion supplements and provides information about the major components of the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and capital resources of the Company. This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements.





Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on the beliefs of management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and "intend" or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "could," or "may" and similar expressions or the negative thereof. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements included herein include, but are not limited to:





  • general economic conditions, either nationally or in our market area, that are
    worse than expected;




  • competition among depository and other financial institutions, particularly
    intensified competition for deposits;




  • inflation and an interest rate environment that may reduce our margins or
    reduce the fair value of financial instruments;




  • adverse changes in the securities markets;




  • changes in laws or government regulations or policies affecting financial
    institutions, including changes in regulatory structure and in regulatory fees
    and capital requirements;




  • our ability to enter new markets successfully and capitalize on growth
    opportunities;




  • our ability to successfully integrate acquired entities;




  • changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits;




  • changes in accounting policies and practices;




  • changes in our organization, compensation and benefit plans;




  • our ability to attract and retain key employees;




  • changes in our financial condition or results of operations that reduce
    capital;




  • changes in the financial condition or future prospects of issuers of
    securities that we own;




  • the concentration of our business in the Northern Virginia as well as the
    greater Washington, DC metropolitan area and the effect of changes in the
    economic, political and environmental conditions on this market;




  • adequacy of our allowance for credit losses;




  • deterioration of our asset quality;




  • cyber threats, attacks or events




  • reliance on third parties for key services




  • future performance of our loan portfolio with respect to recently originated
    loans;




  • additional risks related to new lines of business, products, product
    enhancements or services;




  • results of examination of us by our regulators, including the possibility that
    our regulators may require us to increase our allowance for loan losses or to
    write-down assets or take other supervisory action;




  • the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and our
    ability to remediate any future material weakness in our internal controls
    over financial reporting;




  • liquidity, interest rate and operational risks associated with our business;




  • implications of our status as a smaller reporting company and as an emerging
    growth company; and




  • a work stoppage, forced quarantine, or other interruption or the
    unavailability of key employees.




                                       32

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K to reflect future events or developments. The discussion of the critical accounting policies and analysis set forth below is intended to supplement and highlight information contained in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and the selected financial data presented elsewhere in this Form 10-K.





Critical Accounting Policies

The accounting and financial reporting policies of the Company conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and to general practices within the banking industry. Accordingly, the financial statements require certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions, which are believed to be reasonable, based upon the information available. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the periods presented. Critical accounting policies comprise those that management believes are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results. These policies require numerous estimates or economic assumptions that may prove inaccurate or may be subject to variations which may significantly affect our reported results and financial condition for the current period or in future periods.

The accounting principles followed by the Company and the methods of applying these principles conform with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and with general practices within the banking industry. The Company's critical accounting policies relate to (1) the allowance for loan losses, (2) fair value of financial instruments, and (3) derivative financial instruments. These critical accounting policies require the use of estimates, assumptions and judgments which are based on information available as of the date of the financial statements. Accordingly, as this information changes, future financial statements could reflect the use of different estimates, assumptions and judgments. Certain determinations inherently have a greater reliance on the use of estimates, assumptions and judgments and, as such, have a greater possibility of producing results that could be materially different than originally reported.

Allowance for Loan Losses: Management's policy is to maintain the allowance for loan losses at a level sufficient to absorb estimated probable incurred losses inherent in the loan portfolio. Management performs periodic and systematic detailed reviews of its loan portfolio to identify trends and to assess the overall collectability of the loan portfolio. Accounting standards require that loan losses be recorded when management determines it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated.

The allowance consists of a specific component and a general component. The specific component relates to loans that are classified as impaired, and is established when the discounted cash flows (or collateral value or observable market price) of the impaired loan is lower than the carrying value of that loan. For impaired collateral dependent loans, an updated appraisal will typically be ordered if a current one is not on file. Appraisals are performed by independent third-party appraisers with relevant industry experience. Adjustments to the appraised value may be made based on recent sales of like properties or general market conditions when appropriate. The general component covers non-classified or performing loans and those loans classified as substandard or special mention that are not impaired. The general component is based on historical loss experience adjusted for qualitative factors, such as current economic conditions, including current home sales and foreclosures, unemployment rates and retail sales. Non-impaired classified loans are assigned a higher allowance factor based on an internal migration analysis, which increases with the severity of classification, than non-classified loans.

Estimates for the allowance for loan losses are determined by analyzing historical losses, historical migration to charge-off experience, current trends in delinquencies and charge-offs, the results of regulatory examinations and changes in the size, composition and risk assessment of the loan portfolio. Also included in management's estimate for the allowance for loan losses are considerations with respect to the impact of current economic events. These events may include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in overall interest rates, political conditions, legislation that may directly or indirectly affect the banking industry and economic conditions affecting specific geographical areas and industries in which the Company conducts business.

While management uses the best information available to establish the allowance for loan losses, future adjustments to the allowance for loan losses and methodology may be necessary if economic or other conditions differ substantially from the assumptions used in making the estimates. Such adjustments to original estimates, as necessary, are made in the period in which these factors and other relevant considerations indicate that loss levels vary from previous estimates. A detailed discussion of the methodology used in determining the allowance for loan losses is included in Note 1, Basis of Presentation, in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments: A portion of the Company's assets and liabilities is carried at fair value, with changes in fair value recorded either in earnings or accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). These include investment securities available for sale and interest rate loan swaps on qualifying commercial loans. Periodically, the estimation of fair value also affects investment securities held to maturity when it is determined that an impairment write-down is other than temporary. Fair value determination is also relevant for certain other assets such as other real estate owned, which is recorded at the lower of the recorded balance or fair value, less estimated costs to sell. The determination of fair value also impacts certain other assets that are periodically evaluated for impairment using fair value estimates, including impaired loans.

Fair value is generally based upon quoted market prices, when available. If such quoted market prices are not available, fair value is based upon internally developed models that primarily use observable market-based parameters as inputs. Valuation adjustments may be made to ensure that financial instruments are recorded at fair value. These adjustments may include amounts to reflect counterparty credit quality and the Company's creditworthiness, among other things, as well as other unobservable parameters. Any such valuation adjustments are applied consistently over time. While management believes the Company's valuation methodologies are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different estimate of fair value at the reporting date.





                                       33

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See Note 20, Fair Value Presentation, in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a detailed discussion of determining fair value, including pricing validation processes.

Derivative Financial Instruments: The Bank recognizes derivative financial instruments at fair value as either other assets or other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. The Bank's derivative financial instruments include interest rate swaps with certain qualifying commercial loan customers and dealer counterparties. Because the interest rate swaps with loan customers and dealer counterparties are not designated as hedging instruments, adjustments to reflect unrealized gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value of these instruments are reported as noninterest income or noninterest expense, as applicable. The Bank's interest rate swaps with loan customers and dealer counterparties are described more fully in Note 19 in the December 31, 2022, Consolidated Financial Statements.

© Edgar Online, source Glimpses