As with most community banks, the Bank derives a significant portion of its income from interest received on loans and investments. The Bank’s primary source of funding is deposits, both interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing. In order to maximize the Bank’s net interest income, or the difference between the income on interest-earning assets and the expense of interest-bearing liabilities, the Bank must not only manage the volume of these balance sheet items, but also the yields earned on interest-earning assets and the rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities. To account for credit risk inherent in all loans, the Bank maintains an ALL to absorb possible losses on existing loans that may become uncollectible. The Bank establishes and maintains this allowance by charging a provision for loan losses against operating earnings. Beyond its net interest income, the Bank further receives income through the net gain on sale of loans held for sale as well as servicing income which is retained on those sold loans. In order to maintain its operations and bank locations, the Bank incurs various operating expenses which are further described within the “Results of Operations” later in this section.
The Bank is a 49.8% member of a data processing subsidiary, UFS, which provides core data processing, endpoint management cloud services, cyber security and digital banking solutions for over 50 Midwest banks. The Bank, through its 100% owned subsidiary TVG Holdings, Inc., also holds a 40% ownership interest in Ansay, an insurance agency providing clients throughout Wisconsin with insurance and risk management solutions (on October 1, 2019, TVG Holdings, Inc. purchased an additional 10% ownership interest in Ansay, increasing its ownership interest from 30% prior to that date). These unconsolidated subsidiary interests contribute noninterest income to the Bank through their underlying annual earnings.
On October 27, 2017, the Company consummated its merger with Waupaca pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Bank Merger, dated as of May 11, 2017 and as amended on July 20, 2017, by and among the Company, BFNC Merger Sub, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and Waupaca, whereby Waupaca was merged with and into the Company, and First National Bank, Waupaca’s wholly owned banking subsidiary, was merged with and into the Bank. The system integration was completed, and six branches of First National Bank opened on October 30, 2017 as branches of the Bank, expanding the Bank’s presence into Waupaca county.
On July 12, 2019, the Company consummated its merger with Partnership pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Bank Merger, dated as of January 22, 2019 and as amended on April 30, 2019, by and among the Company and Partnership, whereby Partnership was merged with and into the Company, and Partnership Bank, Partnership’s wholly owned banking subsidiary, was merged with and into the Bank. The system integration was completed, and four branches of Partnership Bank opened on July 15, 2019 as branches of the bank, expanding the Bank’s presence into Ozaukee, Monroe and Jefferson counties.
On May 15, 2020, the Company consummated its merger with Timberwood pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Bank Merger, dated as of November 20, 2019, by and among the Company and Timberwood, whereby Timberwood was merged with and into the Company, and Timberwood Bank, Timberwood’s wholly owned banking subsidiary, was merged with and into the Bank. The system integration was completed, and the sole branch of Timberwood Bank opened on May 18, 2020 as a branch of the bank, expanding the Bank’s presence in Monroe County.
During the first quarter of 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization and a National Public Health Emergency was declared in the United States. Shortly before the end of March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Wisconsin and of most other states took preventative or protective actions, such as imposing restrictions on travel and business operations, advising or requiring individuals to limit or forego their time outside of their homes, and ordering temporary closures of businesses that have been deemed to be non-essential. These preventative and protective actions within Wisconsin were lifted during May 2020.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy continues to evolve. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impacts on trade, travel, unemployment, consumer spending, and other economic activities has resulted in less economic activity and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The ultimate extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations is currently uncertain and will depend on various developments and other factors, including, among others, the duration and scope of the pandemic, as well as governmental, regulatory and private sector responses to the pandemic, and the associated impacts on the economy, financial markets and our customers.
Our business, financial condition and results of operations generally rely upon the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans, the value of collateral underlying our secured loans, and demand for loans and other products and services we offer, which are highly dependent on the business environment in our primary markets. We have actively reached out to our customers to provide guidance, direction and assistance in these uncertain times. We also participated extensively in the Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”), under which we secured funding of approximately 1,875 loans totaling approximately $279.6 million during 2020 as well as approximately 1,075 loans totaling approximately $95.9 million under the new round of funding during the first quarter of 2021.