should not be placed upon these estimates and statements. United cannot assure that any of these statements, estimates, or beliefs will be realized and actual results may differ from those contemplated in these “forward-looking statements.” United undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
United Bank (the “Bank”), the wholly-owned bank subsidiary of United, has received a Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) Performance Evaluation from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (the “FRB”) with a rating of “Needs to Improve.” Based on its performance on the individual components of the CRA exam, the Bank received a rating of “Satisfactory.” These individual components were a “High Satisfactory” rating for the Lending Test, an “Outstanding” rating for the Investment Test and a “High Satisfactory” rating for the Service Test. The Bank’s final overall rating, however, was downgraded to “Needs to Improve” as a result of a Fair Housing Act violation cited in the Washington DC Metropolitan Statistical Area following a FRB fair lending examination of the Bank and its wholly-owned subsidiary, George Mason Mortgage, LLC. This matter is also the subject of an investigation by the Department of Justice. The FRB Performance Evaluation states that “Bank management has taken action to address the deficiencies and committed to taking further voluntary corrective actions to prevent further violations.”
A “Needs to Improve” rating results in restrictions on certain expansionary activities, including certain mergers and acquisitions and the establishment of bank branches.
These restrictions will remain in place until the FRB issues a higher CRA rating following a subsequent CRA examination. The next CRA examination is expected to commence in October 2022. The precise timing of the completion of that examination and any results therefrom will not be known until later.
CORONAVIRUS
(“COVID-19”)
PANDEMIC
During 2020, and to a lesser extent in 2021, the
COVID-19
pandemic had a severe disruptive impact on the U.S. and global economy. As the pandemic is ongoing and dynamic in nature, there are many uncertainties related to
COVID-19
including, among other things, the ongoing impact to our customers, employees and vendors; the impact to the financial services and banking industry; and the impact to the economy as a whole as well as the effect of actions taken, or that may yet be taken, or inaction by governmental authorities to contain the outbreak or to mitigate its impact (both economic and health-related). Refer to our 2021 Form
10-K
for further information regarding (i) the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic on our operations and our results thereof, as well as the impact on our financial position and (ii) legislative and regulatory actions taken related to the
COVID-19
pandemic, particularly as they relate to the banking and financial services industry.
As the
COVID-19
pandemic continues to be
on-going,
there continues to be uncertainties related to its magnitude, duration and persistent effects. This is particularly the case with the emergence, contagiousness and threat of new and different strains of the virus as well as the availability, acceptance and effectiveness of vaccines. However, United is currently unable to fully assess or predict the extent of the effects of
COVID-19
on its operations and results in the future as the ultimate impact will depend on factors that are currently unknown and/or beyond our control.
ACQUISITION
On December 3, 2021, United acquired 100% of the outstanding common stock of Community Bankers Trust Corporation (“Community Bankers Trust”), a Virginia corporation headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Immediately following the Merger, Essex Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Community Bankers Trust, merged with and into United Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United. United Bank survived the Bank Merger and continues to exist as a Virginia banking corporation. The acquisition of Community Bankers Trust enhanced United’s existing presence in the DC Metro MSA and took United into new markets including Baltimore, Annapolis, Lynchburg, Richmond, and the Northern Neck of Virginia. It also strategically connected our
Mid-Atlantic
and Southeast footprints. The Community Bankers Trust merger was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. At consummation, Community Bankers Trust had assets of $1.79 billion, loans and leases, net of unearned income of $1.28 billion and deposits of $1.52 billion.
The results of operations of Community Bankers Trust are included in the consolidated results of operations from its date of acquisition. As a result of the Community Bankers Trust acquisitions, the second quarter and first six months of 2022 were impacted by increased levels of average balances, income, and expense as compared to the second quarter and first six months of 2021.
TRANSITION FROM THE LONDON INTERBANK OFFERED RATE (LIBOR)
In 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, publicly announced its intention to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit the rates used to calculate LIBOR after 2021. ICE Benchmark Administration (the publisher of LIBOR) discontinued publication of the
one-week
and
two-month
U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings on December 31, 2021, and plans to discontinue publication of overnight,
one-month,
three-month,
six-month,
and twelve-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings on June 30, 2023. It is assumed that LIBOR will either cease to be provided by any administrator or will no longer be representative of an acceptable market benchmark after these respective dates. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have issued joint supervisory guidance encouraging banks to cease entering into any new contracts using LIBOR by December 31, 2021. Accordingly, United took steps to ensure compliance with the joint supervisory guidance, and no new contracts using LIBOR have been originated after December 31, 2021.
63