First Commonwealth Financial Corp: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2021

Overview

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (“First Commonwealth,” the “Company” or “we”) is a financial holding company headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania. First Commonwealth's subsidiaries include, First Commonwealth Bank ("FCB" or the "Bank"), First Commonwealth Insurance Agency, Inc. ("FCIA"), FRAMAL and First Commonwealth Financial Advisors, ("FCFA"). We provide a diversified array of consumer and commercial banking services through our bank subsidiary, FCB. We also provide trust and wealth management services and offer insurance products through FCB and our other operating subsidiaries. At December 31, 2021, we had total assets of $9.5 billion, total loans of $6.9 billion, total deposits of $8.0 billion and shareholders’ equity of $1.1 billion. Our principal executive office is located at 601 Philadelphia Street, Indiana, Pennsylvania 15701, and our telephone number is (724) 349-7220.

FCB is a Pennsylvania bank and trust company. At December 31, 2021, the Bank operated 118 community banking offices throughout western and central Pennsylvania, and northeastern, central and southwestern Ohio, as well as corporate banking centers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Columbus, Canton and Cleveland, Ohio, and mortgage banking offices in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and Hudson, Westlake and Lewis Center, Ohio. The Bank also operates a network of 136 automated teller machines, or ATMs, at various branch offices and offsite locations. All of our ATMs are part of the NYCE and MasterCard/Cirrus networks, both of which operate nationwide. The Bank is a member of the Allpoint ATM network, which allows surcharge-free access to over 55,000 ATMs. The Bank is also a member of the “Freedom ATM Alliance,” which affords cardholders surcharge-free access to a network of over 350 ATMs in over 50 counties in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and Ohio.

Historical and Recent Developments

FCB began in 1934 as First National Bank of Indiana. First National Bank of Indiana changed its name to National Bank of the Commonwealth in 1971 and became a subsidiary of First Commonwealth in 1983.

Since the formation of the holding company in 1983, we have grown steadily through the acquisition of smaller banks and thrifts in our market area, including Deposit Bank in 1984, Dale National Bank and First National Bank of Leechburg in 1985, Citizens National Bank of Windber in 1986, Peoples Bank and Trust Company in 1990, Central Bank in 1992, Peoples Bank of Western Pennsylvania in 1993, and Unitas National Bank and Reliable Savings Bank in 1994. In 1995, we merged all of our banking subsidiaries (other than Reliable Savings Bank) into Deposit Bank and renamed the resulting institution “First Commonwealth Bank.” We then merged Reliable Savings Bank into FCB in 1997. We acquired Southwest Bank in 1998 and merged it into FCB in 2002.

We expanded our presence in the Pittsburgh market through the acquisitions of Pittsburgh Savings Bank (dba BankPittsburgh) in 2003, Great American Federal in 2004 and Laurel Savings Bank in 2006. These acquisitions added 27 branches in Allegheny and Butler Counties.

In 2015, we expanded into central Ohio through the acquisition of First Community Bank with four branches in the Columbus area. In 2016, we acquired 13 branches from FirstMerit Bank, National Association, in Canton-Massillon and Ashtabula, Ohio and in 2017, we acquired DCB Financial Corp ("DCB") and its banking subsidiary The Delaware County Bank and Trust Company with nine full-service banking offices in the Columbus, Ohio MSA. In 2018, we acquired Garfield Acquisition Corp., and its banking subsidiary Foundation Bank with five full-service banking offices in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Additionally, since 2014, we have expanded our presence in this Ohio market by opening a corporate loan production office in Columbus, Canton and Cleveland, Ohio, and mortgage loan offices in Hudson, Canfield and Lewis Center, Ohio.

In 2019, we expanded our Pennsylvania markets into State College, Lock Haven, Williamsport and Lewisburg through the acquisition of 14 branches from Santander Bank, N.A.

We have also focused on organic growth, improving the reach of our franchise and the breadth of our product offering. As part of this strategy, we have opened fourteen de novo branches since 2005, all of which are in the greater Pittsburgh area. As a result of our prior acquisitions and de novo strategy, FCB operates 48 branches and a corporate banking center in the Pittsburgh metropolitan statistical area and currently ranks tenth in deposit market share. In 2021, we announced an initiative to enter the equipment leasing and finance business. This division is based in suburban Philadelphia and became operational in the first quarter of 2022.

Our operating objectives include expansion, diversification within our markets, growth of our fee-based income, and growth internally and through acquisitions of financial institutions, branches, and financial services businesses. We generally seek merger or acquisition partners that are culturally similar, have experienced management and possess either significant market presence or have potential for improved profitability through financial management, economies of scale and expanded services. We regularly evaluate merger and acquisition opportunities and, from time to time, conduct due diligence activities related to possible transactions with other financial institutions and financial services companies. As a result, merger or acquisition discussions and, in some cases, negotiations, may take place and future merger acquisitions involving cash, debt or equity securities may occur. Acquisitions typically involve the payment of a premium over book and market values, and, therefore, some dilution of First Commonwealth’s tangible book value and net income per common share may occur in connection with any future transaction. Our ability to engage in certain merger or acquisition transactions, whether or not any regulatory approval is required, will be dependent upon our bank regulators’ views at the time as to our capital levels, quality of management and our overall condition and their assessment of a variety of other factors. Certain merger or acquisition transactions, including those involving the acquisition of a depository institution or the assumption of the deposits of any depository institution, require formal approval from various bank regulatory authorities, which will be subject to a variety of factors and considerations.

Loan Portfolio

The Company’s loan portfolio includes several categories of loans that are discussed in detail below.

Commercial, Financial, Agricultural and Other

Commercial, financial, agricultural and other loans represent term loans used to acquire business assets or revolving lines of credit used to finance working capital. These loans are generally secured by a first lien position on the borrower’s business assets as a secondary source of repayment. The type and amount of the collateral varies depending on the amount and terms of the loan, but generally may include accounts receivable, inventory, equipment or other assets. Loans also may be supported by personal guarantees from the principals of the commercial loan borrowers.

Commercial loans are underwritten for credit-worthiness based on the borrowers’ financial information, cash flow, net worth, prior loan performance, existing debt levels, type of business and the industry in which it operates. Advance rates on commercial loans are generally collateral-dependent and are determined based on the type of equipment, the mix of inventory and the quality of receivables.

Credit risk for commercial loans can arise from a borrower’s inability or unwillingness to repay the loan, and in the case of secured loans, from a shortfall in the collateral value in relation to the outstanding loan balance in the event of a default and subsequent liquidation of collateral. The Company’s Credit Policy establishes loan concentration limits by borrower, geography and industry.

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate loans represent term loans secured by owner-occupied and non-owner occupied properties. Commercial real estate loans are underwritten based on an evaluation of each borrower’s cash flow as the principal source of loan repayment, and are generally secured by a first lien on the property as a secondary source of repayment. Our underwriting process for non-owner occupied properties evaluates the history of occupancy, quality of tenants, lease terms, operating expenses and cash flow. Commercial real estate loans are subject to the same credit evaluation as previously described for commercial loans. Approximately 18%, by principal amount, of our commercial real estate loans involve owner-occupied properties.

For loans secured by commercial real estate, at origination the Company obtains current and independent appraisals from licensed or certified appraisers to assess the value of the underlying collateral. The Company’s general policy for commercial real estate loans is to limit the terms of the loans to not more than 10 years with loan-to-value ratios not exceeding 80% on owner-occupied and income producing properties. For non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans, the loan terms are generally aligned with the property’s lease terms and are generally underwritten with a loan-to-value ratio not exceeding 75%.

Credit risk for commercial real estate loans can arise from economic conditions that could impact market demand, rental rates and property vacancy rates and declines in the collateral value in relation to the outstanding loan balance in the event of a default and subsequent liquidation of collateral.

Real Estate Construction

Real estate construction represents financing for real estate development. The underwriting process for these loans is designed to confirm that the project will be economically feasible and financially viable and is generally conducted as though the Company would be providing permanent financing for the project. Development and construction loans are secured by the properties under development or construction, and personal guarantees are typically obtained as a secondary repayment source.

The Company considers the financial condition and reputation of the borrower and any guarantors and generally requires a global cash flow analysis in order to assess the overall financial position of the developer.

Construction loans to residential builders are generally made for the construction of residential homes for which a binding sales contract exists and for which the prospective buyers have been pre-qualified for permanent mortgage financing by either third-party lenders or the Company. These loans are generally for a period of time sufficient to complete construction.

Residential construction loans to individuals generally provide for the payment of interest only during the construction phase. At the end of the construction phase, substantially all of our loans automatically convert to permanent mortgage loans and can either be retained in our loan portfolio or sold on the secondary market.

Credit risk for real estate construction loans can arise from construction delays, cost overruns, failure of the contractor to complete the project to specifications and economic conditions that could impact demand for or supply of the property being constructed.

Residential Real Estate

Residential real estate loans include first lien mortgages used by the borrower to purchase or refinance a principal residence and home equity loans and lines of credit secured by residential real estate. The Company’s underwriting process for these loans determines credit-worthiness based upon debt-to-income ratios, collateral values and other relevant factors.

Credit risk for residential real estate loans can arise from a borrower’s inability or unwillingness to repay the loan or a shortfall in the value of the residential real estate in relation to the outstanding loan balance in the event of a default and subsequent liquidation of the real estate collateral.

The residential real estate portfolio includes both conforming and non-conforming mortgage loans. Conforming mortgage loans represent loans originated in accordance with underwriting standards set forth by the government-sponsored entities, including the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and the Government National Mortgage Association, which serve as the primary purchasers of loans sold in the secondary mortgage market by mortgage lenders. These loans are generally collateralized by one-to-four-family residential real estate, have loan-to-collateral value ratios of 80% or less (or have mortgage insurance to insure down to 80%), and are made to borrowers in good credit standing. Non-conforming mortgage loans represent loans that generally are not saleable in the secondary market to the government-sponsored entities due to factors such as the credit characteristics of the borrower, the underlying documentation, the loan-to-value ratio, or the size of the loan. The Company does not offer “subprime,” “interest-only” or “negative amortization” mortgages.

Home equity lines of credit and other home equity loans are originated by the Company for typically up to 90% of the appraised value, less the amount of any existing prior liens on the property. Additionally, the Company’s credit policy requires borrower FICO scores of not less than 661 and a debt-to-income ratio of not more than 43%.

Loans to Individuals

The loans to individuals category includes consumer installment loans, personal lines of credit, consumer credit cards and indirect automobile and recreational vehicle loans. Credit risk for consumer loans can arise from a borrower’s inability or unwillingness to repay the loan, and in the case of secured loans, by a shortfall in the value of the collateral in relation to the outstanding loan balance in the event of a default and subsequent liquidation of collateral.

The underwriting criteria for automobile loans generally allows for such loans to be made for up to 100% of the purchase price or the retail value of the vehicle as listed by the National Automobile Dealers Association. The terms of the loan are determined by the age and condition of the collateral, and range from 36 to 84 months. Collision insurance policies are required on all automobile loans. The Company also makes other consumer loans, which may or may not be secured. The terms of secured consumer loans generally depend upon the nature of the underlying collateral. Unsecured consumer loans and consumer credit cards usually do not exceed $35 thousand. Unsecured consumer loans usually have a term of no longer than 36 months.

Deposits

Deposits are our primary source of funds to support our revenue-generating assets. We offer traditional deposit products to businesses and other customers with a variety of rates and terms. Deposits at our bank are insured by the FDIC up to statutory limits. We price our deposit products with a view to maximizing our share of each customer’s financial services business and prudently managing our cost of funds. At December 31, 2021, we held $8.0 billion of total deposits, which consisted of $2.7 billion, or 33%, in non-interest bearing checking accounts, $4.9 billion, or 62%, in interest-bearing checking accounts, money market and savings accounts, and $0.4 billion, or 5%, in CDs and IRAs.

Competition

The banking and financial services industry is extremely competitive in our market area. We face vigorous competition for customers, loans and deposits from many companies, including commercial banks, savings and loan associations, finance companies, credit unions, trust companies, mortgage companies, money market mutual funds, insurance companies, and brokerage and investment firms. Many of these competitors are significantly larger than us, have greater resources, higher lending limits and larger branch systems and offer a wider array of financial services than us. In addition, some of these competitors, such as credit unions, are subject to a lesser degree of regulation or taxation than banks.

Human Capital Resources

Workforce Composition and Demographics

At December 31, 2021, First Commonwealth and its subsidiaries employed 1,393 full-time employees and 78 part-time employees with 609 exempt and 862 non-exempt employees. The average age of the workforce is 43.1 years and the average tenure is 7.7 years. Our workforce is 67% female.

Diversity & Inclusion

In 2021, we strengthened and accelerated our focus on and action towards Diversity & Inclusion ("D&I") in several key ways. We appointed Vicki L. Fox as Senior Vice President and Diversity & Inclusion Officer with overall responsibility for identifying and mentoring diverse talent, keeping management apprised of emerging D&I issues, and evolving our D&I practices. Ms. Fox has an extensive background in human resources and banking at First Commonwealth, and a deep connection with our company and communities, especially our Pittsburgh market.

Ms. Fox serves as the co-chair of our Diversity & Inclusion Committee, along with T. Michael Price, CEO. The Committee is comprised of executive and senior leadership and diverse employees and is actively involved in developing and overseeing initiatives to support our D&I initiatives.

The following is a summary of D&I initiatives in 2021:

• We distributed regional and line of business diversity scorecards in each of our five regions and to our executive officers for their unit to increase accountability for diversity in our workforce.
• We provided D&I training to our Board of Directors and senior leaders.
• We created an African American employee resource group to receive and respond to feedback on ways in which First Commonwealth can better attract and retain African American employees. Their work resulted in creating an ambassador program for new African American hires that will lead into mentorship relationships with leaders in the company and a welcome video to connect African American new hires to African American leaders.
• Our strong partnership with BankWork$ continued in our Pittsburgh market. Through a structured training program, BankWork$ prepares people from underserved communities for entry-level, branch roles in banking. First Commonwealth actively participates by engaging in classroom discussions with students, attending job fairs and hiring graduates.

Our focus on D&I has produced meaningful progress in several scorecard categories. As of December 31, 2021, racial minorities comprised 6.7% of the workforce. Racial minorities and women comprised 5.2% and 48.2%, respectively of those in leadership positions (defined by corporate title, Assistant Vice President and higher). Women, including one racial minority, hold three seats on our Board of Directors.

Several of our employees were recognized for their work advancing D&I, including Ms. Fox and Jane Grebenc, our Chief Revenue Officer and Bank President, who were both recognized by the Pennsylvania Banker’s Association for their work in championing women in the banking industry. Other employees received external recognitions, including awards for ‘Foremost Under Forty’, Black Excellence in Real Estate, Patriotic Employer Award, NAACP Community Service Award-Indiana County, PA and Young Professionals Forty Under Forty.

Talent Attraction and Retention

Our employees are key to the success of delivering our mission as an organization and achieving our financial targets. We are committed to attracting, retaining and promoting top quality talent regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military status, genetic information or any other category protected by federal, state and local laws. We strive to identify and select the best candidates for all open positions based on qualifying factors for each job. We are dedicated to providing a workplace environment and culture for our employees that is inclusive, supportive, and free of any form of discrimination or harassment; rewarding and recognizing our employees based on their individual results and performance; and recognizing and respecting all of the characteristics and differences that make each of our employees unique.

Talent Development

Guided by executive leadership, our Strategic and Inspired Leadership ("SAIL") program strengthens our senior leadership. Over 130 of our leaders are involved in quarterly forums and regional “musters” (or meetings) that focus on relevant topics, such as our strategic and operating plans, D&I, employee engagement and learning & growth opportunities. The sessions are informative and collaborative and valued by the participants.

Since 2009, we’ve supported a mentorship program, open to all employees. The program provides 1:1 mentorship pairings, group development sessions and volunteer opportunities. In 2021, there were a total of 116 participants, including 75 women and 13 racial minorities.

Within our retail unit, we provide a career development program for entry level employees to help them achieve positions of increased opportunity. Leaders are given industry-specific training as well as development opportunities to understand their strengths and improve coaching and execution skills. We also provided inclusive leadership courses, including helping employees communicate as an ally. Lastly, we invested in an established, industry-specific and developmental training course library from which all employees benefit.

Our talent acquisition priority is to invest in the development of internal talent and to provide career advancement opportunities to our employees. In 2021, we promoted 324 employees, of whom 70% were female and 7% were self-identified minorities.

In 2021, we leveraged the lessons learned as a result of remote work through the pandemic to effectively structure and deliver a permanent telecommuting policy and program for approximately 27% of our workforce. We believe that flexible work location opportunities will allow us to broaden our candidate pool and retain employees whose jobs can be performed remotely.

We listen to our employees through market visits, executive forums and our annual employee engagement survey. In 2021, 67% of our employees completed the annual survey. Our overall ratings exceeded the medians of the financial services industry and all companies that utilize our survey provider. The survey reflected that employees have fulfillment in working for a community bank and making a difference and are satisfied with their jobs and First Commonwealth as a whole.

Our employment turnover for 2021 was calculated at 31.2%, which is generally aligned with industry benchmarks.

Compensation and Benefits

We strive to provide a competitive and fair total compensation package to our employees. We price positions against recent industry benchmark reports and salary surveys to establish salary ranges. In 2021, we made significant steps to attract and retain employees in our retail and operations units by increasing the base pay in several positions to align with career advancement opportunities and to address market competition and wage compression.

Employee benefits plans support employees with insurance, retirement and work/life plans. Our health plan is structured with a tiered premium approach in which 39% of plan participants are in the lowest tier and pay a lower monthly premium than the other two higher paying tiers. Our 401k plan offers an employer match on employee contributions of up to 4% of eligible earnings. We offer a variety of other benefits, including disability plans, a generous paid-time off policy and an employee assistance program.

Health and Safety

As the global pandemic continued into 2021, we continued to prioritize the safety and well-being of our employees, customers, partners and communities through healthy workplace practices and consistent communication reminders and updates.

We continuously supported cleaning protocols, provided personal protective equipment to our employees, required face coverings for employees and customers, conducted temperature screening and took other measures to comply with directives of state and local health departments. We safely welcomed back employees to the workplace in fall 2021, with flexibility to continue working remotely as needed. We also developed a permanent telecommuting policy. As of December 31, 2021, we had 1,023 employees on location (70%), 399 telecommuting employees (27%) and 49 employees temporarily working from home (3%).

We also support our employees by offering employee assistance programs that connect them with resources to help them in certain life situations, such as personal counselling, legal services and adoption. Our employees support each other through Hearts2Hands, an employee-funded program that provides financial assistance to employees who experience hardships.

Culture and Engagement

Our culture is rooted in our core values of accountability, customer focus, integrity, excellence and inclusion, and in our mission to improve the financial lives of our neighbors and their businesses. We practice a Customer Service Promise of five critical behaviors that we encourage every one of our employees to demonstrate at every customer interaction – internal or external – with the intent of creating an extraordinary customer experience, which is measured by our customer satisfaction scores. The five behaviors are to put customers first, be relentless, inspire confidence, champion simplicity and obsess with yes.

We are proud that we were selected as a Forbes World’s Best Bank in 2021 for the third consecutive year and earned the #1 SBA lender ranking by serving businesses in our Pittsburgh market. Based on employee feedback, First Commonwealth was named a Top Workplace in the Pittsburgh area in 2021 for the third consecutive year.

In 2021, First Commonwealth supported our communities with more than $2,000,000 in community giving and $46,000,000 in community development investment support. Our employees provided 13,600 volunteer hours and 625 hours of financial education classes. To recognize employees who go above and beyond in their volunteerism and community engagement, we present a quarterly “Golden Tower” award which includes $1,000 for the recipient to give to a charitable organization of their choice. We provide corporate support for the United Way, including a corporate match, and, in 2021, we gave more than $162,000 in total, with our match to support our employees’ contributions. In addition, our 2021 ‘Share the Warmth’ community campaign supported more than 20 local community action agencies across our footprint. In 2021, the company matched more than $30,000 in donations.

Supervision and Regulation

The following discussion sets forth the material elements of the regulatory framework applicable to financial holding companies, such as First Commonwealth, and their subsidiaries. The regulatory framework is intended primarily for the protection of depositors, other customers and the federal deposit insurance fund and not for the protection of security holders. The rules governing the regulation of financial institutions and their holding companies are very detailed and technical. Accordingly, the following discussion is general in nature and is not intended to be complete or to describe all the laws and regulations that apply to First Commonwealth and its subsidiaries. A change in applicable statutes, regulations or regulatory policy may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Bank Holding Company Regulation

First Commonwealth is registered as a financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (“BHC Act”), and is subject to supervision and regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”).

Acquisitions. Under the BHC Act, First Commonwealth is required to obtain the prior approval of the FRB before it can merge or consolidate with any other bank holding company or acquire all or substantially all of the assets of any bank that is not already majority owned by it, or acquire direct or indirect ownership, or control of, any voting shares of any bank that is not already majority owned by it, if after such acquisition it would directly or indirectly own or control more than 5% of the voting shares of such bank. In reviewing applications seeking approval of merger and acquisition transactions, the bank regulatory authorities will consider, among other things, the competitive effect and public benefits of the transactions, the financial, including capital, position of the combined organization, the risks to the stability of the U.S. banking or financial system, the applicant's performance record under the Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA") and its compliance with fair housing and other consumer protection laws and the effectiveness of the subject organizations in combating money laundering activities.

Banking Holding Company Activities. In general, the BHC Act limits the business of bank holding companies to banking, managing or controlling banks and other activities that the FRB has determined to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto. In addition, bank holding companies that qualify and elect to be financial holding companies such as First Commonwealth may engage in any activity, or acquire and retain the shares of a company engaged in any activity, that is either (i) financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity or (ii) complementary to a financial activity and does not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally, without in either case the prior approval of the FRB. Activities that are financial in nature include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance agency activities and making merchant banking investments.

To maintain financial holding company status, a financial holding company and all of its depository institution subsidiaries must be well capitalized and well managed. A depository institution subsidiary is considered to be well capitalized if it satisfies the requirements for this status discussed in the section below captioned "Prompt Corrective Action." A depository institution subsidiary is considered well managed if it received a composite rating and management rating of at least satisfactory in its most recent examination. A financial holding company’s status will also depend upon maintaining its status as well capitalized and well managed under applicable FRB regulations. If a financial holding company ceases to meet these capital and management requirements, the FRB’s regulations provide that the financial holding company must enter into an agreement with the FRB to comply with all applicable capital and management requirements. Until the financial holding company returns to compliance, the FRB may impose limitations or conditions on the conduct of its activities, and the company may not commence any of the broader financial activities permissible for financial holding companies or acquire a company engaged in such financial activities without prior approval of the FRB. If the company does not return to compliance within 180 days, the FRB may require divestiture of the holding company’s depository institutions.

In order for a financial holding company to commence any new activity permitted by the BHC Act or to acquire a company engaged in any new activity permitted by the BHC Act, each insured depository institution subsidiary of the financial holding company must have received a rating of at least satisfactory in its most recent examination under the CRA.

The FRB has the power to order any bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any activity or to terminate its ownership or control of any subsidiary when the FRB has reasonable grounds to believe that continuation of such activity or such ownership or control constitutes a serious risk to the financial soundness, safety or stability of any bank subsidiary of the bank holding company.

Reporting. Under the BHC Act, First Commonwealth is subject to examination by the FRB and is required to file periodic reports and other information of its operations with the FRB.

Source of Strength Doctrine. FRB policy and federal law require bank holding companies to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to their subsidiary banks. First Commonwealth is expected to commit resources to support FCB, including at times when First Commonwealth may not be in a financial position to provide such resources. Any capital loans by a bank holding company to any of its subsidiary banks are subordinate in right of payment to deposits and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary banks. In the event of a bank holding company’s bankruptcy, any commitment by the bank holding company to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of a subsidiary bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment.

Affiliate Transactions. Transactions between FCB, on the one hand, and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation and its other subsidiaries, on the other hand, are regulated under federal banking laws. The Federal Reserve Act imposes quantitative and qualitative requirements and collateral requirements on covered transactions by FCB with, or for the benefit of, its affiliates, and generally requires those transactions to be on terms at least as favorable to FCB as if the transaction were conducted with an unaffiliated third party. Covered transactions are defined by statute to include a loan or extension of credit, as well as a purchase of securities issued by an affiliate, a purchase of assets (unless otherwise exempted by the FRB) from the affiliate, certain derivative transactions that create a credit exposure to an affiliate, the acceptance of securities issued by the affiliate as collateral for a loan, and the issuance of a guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit on behalf of an affiliate. In general, any such transaction by FCB (or its subsidiaries) must be limited to certain thresholds on an individual and aggregate basis and, for credit transactions with any affiliate, must be secured by designated amounts of specified collateral.

SEC Regulations. First Commonwealth is also under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and various state securities commissions for matters relating to the offer and sale of its securities and is subject to the SEC rules and regulations relating to periodic reporting, proxy solicitation and insider trading.

Bank Regulation

FCB is a state bank chartered under the Pennsylvania Banking Code and is not a member of the FRB. As such, FCB is subject to the supervision of, and is regularly examined by, both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and is required to furnish quarterly reports to both agencies. The approval of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and FDIC is also required for FCB to establish additional branch offices or merge with or acquire another banking institution.

Dividends. First Commonwealth is a legal entity separate and distinct from its banking and other subsidiaries. As a bank holding company, First Commonwealth is subject to certain restrictions on its ability to pay dividends under applicable banking laws and regulations. Federal bank regulators are authorized to determine under certain circumstances relating to the financial condition of a bank holding company or a bank that the payment of dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice and to prohibit payment thereof. In particular, federal bank regulators have stated that paying dividends that deplete a banking organization’s capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice and that banking organizations should generally pay dividends only out of current operating earnings.

A significant portion of our income comes from dividends from our bank, which is also the primary source of our liquidity. In addition to the restrictions discussed above, our bank is subject to limitations under Pennsylvania law regarding the level of dividends that it may pay to us. In general, dividends may be declared and paid only out of accumulated net earnings and may not be declared or paid unless surplus is at least equal to capital. Dividends may not reduce surplus without the prior consent of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. FCB has not reduced its surplus through the payment of dividends. As of December 31, 2021, FCB could pay dividends to First Commonwealth of $311.1 million without reducing its capital levels below "well capitalized" levels and without the approval of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities.

Community Reinvestment. Under the Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA") a bank has a continuing and affirmative obligation, consistent with its safe and sound operation, to help meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods. The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for financial institutions nor does it limit an institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best suited to its particular community, consistent with the CRA. The CRA requires the applicable regulatory agency to assess an institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its community. The CRA requires public disclosure of an institution’s CRA rating and requires that the applicable regulatory agency provide a written evaluation of an institution’s CRA performance utilizing a four-tiered descriptive rating system. An institution’s CRA rating is considered in determining whether to grant charters, branches and other deposit facilities, relocations, mergers, consolidations and acquisitions. Performance less than satisfactory may be the basis for denying an application. For its most recent examination, FCB received a “satisfactory” rating.

Consumer Financial Protection. We are subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that extensively govern our relationship with our customers. These laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act and these laws’ respective state-law counterparts, as well as state usury laws and laws regarding unfair and deceptive acts and practices. These and other federal laws, among other things, require disclosures of the cost of credit and terms of deposit accounts, provide substantive consumer rights, prohibit discrimination in credit transactions, regulate the use of credit report information, provide financial privacy protections, prohibit unfair, deceptive and abusive practices, restrict our ability to raise interest rates and subject us to substantial regulatory oversight. Violations of applicable consumer protection laws can result in significant potential liability from litigation brought by customers, including actual damages, restitution and attorneys’ fees. Federal bank regulators, state attorneys general and state and local consumer protection agencies may also seek to enforce consumer protection requirements and obtain these and other remedies, including regulatory sanctions, customer rescission rights, action by the state and local attorneys general in each jurisdiction in which we operate and civil money penalties. Failure to comply with consumer protection requirements may also result in our failure to obtain any required bank regulatory approval for merger or acquisition transactions we may wish to pursue or our prohibition from engaging in such transactions even if approval is not required.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), has broad rulemaking, supervisory and enforcement powers under various federal consumer financial protection laws. Although all institutions are subject to rules adopted by the CFPB and examination by the CFPB in conjunction with examinations by the institution’s primary federal regulator, the CFPB has primary examination and enforcement authority over institutions with assets of $10 billion or more. The FDIC has primary responsibility for examination of our bank and enforcement with respect to federal consumer protection laws so long as our bank has total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion, and state authorities are responsible for monitoring our compliance with all state consumer laws. The CFPB also has the authority to require reports from institutions with less than $10 billion in assets, such as our bank, to support the CFPB in implementing federal consumer protection laws, supporting examination activities, and assessing and detecting risks to consumers and financial markets.

Deposit Insurance. Deposits of FCB are insured up to applicable limits by the FDIC and are subject to deposit insurance assessments to maintain the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”). Deposit insurance assessments are based upon average total assets minus average total equity. The insurance assessments are based upon a matrix that takes into account a bank’s capital level and supervisory rating. The FDIC may terminate deposit insurance upon a finding that the institution has engaged in unsafe and unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations, or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC. As an institution with less than $10 billion in assets, FCB’s assessment rates are based on its risk classification (i.e., the level of risk it poses to the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund). For institutions with $10 billion or more in assets, assessment rates are calculated using a scorecard that combines the supervisory risk ratings of the institution with certain forward-looking financial measures. These assessment rates are subject to adjustments based upon the insured depository institution’s ratio of long-term unsecured debt to the assessment base, long-term unsecured debt issued by other insured depository institutions to the assessment base, and brokered deposits to the assessment base. However, the adjustments based on brokered deposits to the assessment base will not apply so long as the institution is well capitalized and has a composite CAMELS rating of 1 or 2. The CAMELS rating system is a bank rating system where bank supervisory authorities rate institutions according to six factors: capital adequacy, asset quality, management quality, earnings, liquidity and sensitivity to market risk. The FDIC may make additional discretionary assessment rate adjustments.

Capital Requirements

First Commonwealth and FCB are each required to comply with applicable capital adequacy standards established by the FRB.

In July 2013, the federal bank regulators approved final rules (the “Basel III Capital Rules”) implementing the Basel III framework as well as certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Since fully phased in on January 1, 2019, the Basel III Capital Rules require First Commonwealth and FCB to maintain the following:

• A minimum ratio of Common Equity Tier 1 (“CET1”) to risk-weighted assets of at least 4.5%, plus a 2.5% “capital conservation buffer” (resulting in a minimum ratio of CET1 to risk-weighted assets of 7.0%);
• A minimum ratio of Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 6.0%, plus the capital conservation buffer (resulting in a minimum Tier 1 capital ratio of 8.5%);
• A minimum ratio of total capital (Tier 1 capital plus Tier 2 capital) to risk-weighted assets of at least 8.0%, plus the capital conservation buffer (resulting in a minimum total capital ratio of 10.5%); and
• A minimum leverage ratio of 4.0%, calculated as the ratio of Tier 1 capital to average consolidated assets as reported on consolidated financial statements (known as the “leverage ratio”).

Banking institutions that fail to meet the effective minimum ratios once the capital conservation buffer is taken into account, as detailed above, will be subject to constraints on capital distributions, including dividends and share repurchases, and certain discretionary executive compensation. The severity of the constraints depends on the amount of the shortfall and the institution’s “eligible retained income” (that is, four quarter trailing net income, net of distributions and tax effects not reflected in net income).

The Basel III Capital Rules provide for a number of deductions from and adjustments to CET1. These include, for example, the requirement that mortgage servicing rights, deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences that could not be realized through net operating loss carrybacks and significant investments in non-consolidated financial entities be deducted from CET1 to the extent that any one such category exceeds 10% of CET1 or all such categories in the aggregate exceed 15% of CET1. During 2015, First Commonwealth and FCB made a one-time permanent election, as permitted under Basel III Capital Rules, to exclude the effects of accumulated other comprehensive income items for the purposes of determining regulatory capital ratios.

With respect to FCB, the Basel III Capital Rules also revise the “prompt corrective action” regulations pursuant to Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as discussed below under “Prompt Corrective Action.” The Basel III Capital Rules prescribe a standardized approach for risk weightings that expand the risk-weighting categories from the general risk-based capital rules to a much larger and more risk-sensitive number of categories, depending on the nature of the assets, generally ranging from 0% for U.S. government and agency securities, to 600% for certain equity exposures, and resulting in higher risk weights for a variety of asset categories.

Liquidity Requirements

The Basel III liquidity framework requires banks and bank holding companies to measure their liquidity against specific liquidity tests. One test, referred to as the liquidity coverage ratio (“LCR”), is designed to ensure that the banking entity maintains an adequate level of unencumbered high-quality liquid assets equal to the entity’s expected net cash outflow for a 30-day time horizon (or, if greater, 25% of its expected total cash outflow) under an acute liquidity stress scenario. The other test, referred to as the net stable funding ratio (“NSFR”), is designed to promote more medium- and long-term funding of the assets and activities of banking entities over a one-year time horizon. Rules applicable to certain large banking organizations have been implemented for LCR and proposed for NSFR; however, based on our asset size, these rules do not currently apply to First Commonwealth and FCB.

Prompt Corrective Action

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended (“FDIA”), requires, among other things, the federal banking agencies to take “prompt corrective action” in respect of depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. The FDIA includes the following five capital tiers: “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized.” A depository institution’s capital tier will depend upon how its capital levels compare with various relevant capital measures and certain other factors, as established by regulation. The relevant capital measures are the total capital ratio, the CET1 capital ratio (a new ratio requirement under the Basel III Capital Rules), the Tier 1 capital ratio and the leverage ratio.

A bank will be (i) “well capitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.0% or greater, a CET1 capital ratio of 6.5% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% or greater, and a leverage ratio of 5.0% or greater, and is not subject to any order or written directive by any such regulatory authority to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure; (ii) “adequately capitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% or greater, a CET1 capital ratio of 4.5% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6.0% or greater, and a leverage ratio of 4.0% or greater and is not “well capitalized”; (iii) “undercapitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 8.0%, a CET1 capital ratio less than 4.5%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0% or a leverage ratio of less than 4.0%; (iv) “significantly undercapitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0%, a CET1 capital ratio less than 3%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4.0% or a leverage ratio of less than 3.0%; and (v) “critically undercapitalized” if the institution’s tangible equity is equal to or less than 2.0% of average quarterly tangible assets. An institution may be downgraded to, or deemed to be in, a capital category that is lower than indicated by its capital ratios if it is determined to be in an unsafe or unsound condition or if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating with respect to certain matters. A bank’s capital category is determined solely for the purpose of applying prompt corrective action regulations, and the capital category may not constitute an accurate representation of the bank’s overall financial condition or prospects for other purposes.

The FDIA generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distributions (including payment of a dividend) or paying any management fee to its parent holding company if the depository institution would thereafter be “undercapitalized.” “Undercapitalized” institutions are subject to growth limitations and are required to submit a capital restoration plan. The agencies may not accept such a plan without determining, among other things, that the plan is based on realistic assumptions and is likely to succeed in restoring the depository institution’s capital. In addition, for a capital restoration plan to be acceptable, the depository institution’s parent holding company must guarantee that the institution will comply with such capital restoration plan and must also provide appropriate assurances of performance. The aggregate liability of the parent holding company is limited to the lesser of (i) an amount equal to 5.0% of the depository institution’s total assets at the time it became undercapitalized and (ii) the amount which is necessary (or would have been necessary) to bring the institution into compliance with all capital standards applicable with respect to such institution as of the time it fails to comply with the plan. If a depository institution fails to submit an acceptable plan, it is treated as if it is “significantly undercapitalized.”

In addition, the FDIA prohibits an insured depository institution from accepting brokered deposits or offering interest rates on any deposits significantly higher than the prevailing rate in the bank's normal market area or nationally (depending upon where the deposits are solicited), unless it is well capitalized or is adequately capitalized and receives a waiver from the FDIC. A depository institution that is adequately capitalized and accepts brokered deposits under a waiver from the FDIC may not pay an interest rate on any deposit in excess of 75 basis points over certain prevailing market rates.

“Significantly undercapitalized” depository institutions may be subject to a number of requirements and restrictions, including orders to sell sufficient voting stock to become “adequately capitalized,” requirements to reduce total assets, and cessation of receipt of deposits from correspondent banks. “Critically undercapitalized” institutions are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator.

The appropriate federal banking agency may, under certain circumstances, reclassify a well-capitalized insured depository institution as adequately capitalized. The FDIA provides that an institution may be reclassified if the appropriate federal banking agency determines (after notice and opportunity for hearing) that the institution is in an unsafe or unsound condition or deems the institution to be engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice.

The appropriate agency is also permitted to require an adequately capitalized or undercapitalized institution to comply with the supervisory provisions as if the institution were in the next lower category (but not treat a significantly undercapitalized institution as critically undercapitalized) based on supervisory information other than the capital levels of the institution.

First Commonwealth believes that, as of December 31, 2021, FCB was a “well-capitalized” bank as defined by the FDIA. See Note 23 “Regulatory Restrictions and Capital Adequacy” of Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, contained in Item 8, for a table that provides a comparison of First Commonwealth’s and FCB’s risk-based capital ratios and the leverage ratio to minimum regulatory requirements.

The Volcker Rule

The Dodd-Frank Act prohibits banks and their affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading and investing in and sponsoring hedge funds and private equity funds (so called "covered funds"). The statutory provision is commonly called the “Volcker Rule.” Banks with less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, such as FCB, are exempt from the Volker Rule.

Depositor Preference

Under federal law, depositors (including the FDIC with respect to the subrogated claims of insured depositors) and certain claims for administrative expenses of the FDIC as receiver would be afforded a priority over other general unsecured claims against such an institution in the liquidation or other resolution of such an institution by any receiver.

Interchange Fees

Under the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, the FRB adopted rules establishing standards for assessing whether the interchange fees that may be charged with respect to certain electronic debit transactions are “reasonable and proportional” to the costs incurred by issuers for processing such transactions. Interchange fees, or “swipe” fees, are charges that merchants pay to us and other card-issuing banks for processing electronic payment transactions. Under the final rules, the maximum permissible interchange fee is equal to no more than 21 cents plus 5 basis points of the transaction value for many types of debit interchange transactions. The FRB also adopted a rule to allow a debit card issuer to recover 1 cent per transaction for fraud prevention purposes if the issuer complies with certain fraud-related requirements required by the FRB. The FRB also has rules governing routing and exclusivity that require issuers to offer two unaffiliated networks for routing transactions on each debit or prepaid product.

The Dodd-Frank Act contained an exemption from the interchange fee cap for any debit card issuer that, together with its affiliates, has total assets of less than $10 billion as of the end of the previous calendar year. We currently qualify for this exemption. We earned approximately $28.0 million in card related interchange income during the 2021 fiscal year. If we did not qualify for this exemption, we estimate that our interchange income would decrease by $13.8 million. We would become subject to the interchange fee cap beginning July 1 of the year after the level of our total assets reaches or exceeds $10 billion.

Financial Privacy

The federal banking regulators adopted rules that limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose non-public information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties. These limitations require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to a nonaffiliated third party. These regulations affect how consumer information is transmitted through diversified financial companies and conveyed to outside vendors.

Anti-Money Laundering and the USA Patriot Act

A major focus of governmental policy on financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”) substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Financial institutions are also prohibited from entering into specified financial transactions and account relationships and must use enhanced due diligence procedures in their dealings with certain types of high-risk customers and implement a written customer identification program. Financial institutions must take certain steps to assist government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering and report certain types of suspicious transactions. Regulatory authorities routinely examine financial institutions for compliance with these obligations, and failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal and reputational consequences for the institution, including causing applicable bank regulatory authorities not to approve merger or acquisition transactions when regulatory approval is required or to prohibit such transactions even if approval is not required. Regulatory authorities have imposed cease and desist orders and civil money penalties against institutions found to be violating these obligations.

Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulation

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and regimes, under authority of various laws, including designated foreign countries, nationals and others. OFAC publishes lists of specially designated targets and countries. First Commonwealth is responsible for, among other things, blocking accounts of, and transactions with, such targets and countries, prohibiting unlicensed trade and financial transactions with them and reporting blocked transactions after their occurrence. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences, including causing applicable bank regulatory authorities not to approve merger or acquisition transactions when regulatory approval is required or to prohibit such transactions even if approval is not required.

Cybersecurity

In March 2015, federal regulators issued two related statements regarding cybersecurity. One statement indicates that financial institutions should design multiple layers of security controls to establish lines of defense and to ensure that their risk management processes also address the risk posed by compromised customer credentials, including security measures to reliably authenticate customers accessing internet-based services of the financial institution. The other statement indicates that a financial institution’s management is expected to maintain sufficient business continuity planning processes to ensure the rapid recovery, resumption and maintenance of the institution’s operations after a cyber-attack involving destructive malware. A financial institution is also expected to develop appropriate processes to enable recovery of data and business operations and address rebuilding network capabilities and restoring data if the institution or its critical service providers fall victim to this type of cyber-attack. If we fail to observe the regulatory guidance, we could be subject to various regulatory sanctions, including financial penalties.

State regulators have also been increasingly active in implementing privacy and cybersecurity standards and regulations. Recently, several states have adopted regulations requiring certain financial institutions to implement cybersecurity programs and providing detailed requirements with respect to these programs, including data encryption requirements. Many states have also recently implemented or modified their data breach notification and data privacy requirements. We expect this trend of state-level activity in those areas to continue, and are continually monitoring developments in the states in which our customers are located.

In the ordinary course of business, we rely on electronic communications and information systems to conduct our operations and to store sensitive data. We employ an in-depth, layered, defensive approach that leverages people, processes and technology to manage and maintain cybersecurity controls. We employ a variety of preventative and detective tools to monitor, block, and provide alerts regarding suspicious activity, as well as to report on any suspected advanced persistent threats. Notwithstanding the strength of our defensive measures, the threat from cyber-attacks is severe, attacks are sophisticated and increasing in volume, and attackers respond rapidly to changes in defensive measures. While to date we have not experienced a significant compromise, significant data loss or any material financial losses related to cybersecurity attacks, our systems and those of our customers and third-party service providers are under constant threat and it is possible that we could experience a significant event in the future. Risks and exposures related to cybersecurity attacks are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future due to the rapidly evolving nature and sophistication of these threats, as well as due to the expanding use of internet banking, mobile banking and other technology-based products and services by us and our customers. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for a further discussion of risks related to cybersecurity.

Future Legislation and Regulation

Congress may enact legislation from time to time that affects the regulation of the financial services industry, and state legislatures may enact legislation from time to time affecting the regulation of financial institutions chartered by or operating in those states. Federal and state regulatory agencies also periodically propose and adopt changes to their regulations or change the manner in which existing regulations are applied. The substance or impact of pending or future legislation or regulation, or the application thereof, cannot be predicted, although enactment of the proposed legislation could impact the regulatory structure under which we operate and may significantly increase our costs, impede the efficiency of our internal business processes, require us to increase our regulatory capital and modify our business strategy, and limit our ability to pursue business opportunities in an efficient manner. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may be adversely affected, perhaps materially, as a result.

Availability of Financial Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Our SEC filings are also available to the public on the SEC website at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov) and on our website at www.fcbanking.com (http://www.fcbanking.com).

We also make available on our website, www.fcbanking.com (http://www.fcbanking.com), and in print to any shareholder who requests them, our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the charters for our Audit, Risk, Compensation and Human Resources, and Governance Committees, and the Code of Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees.

Our Chief Executive Officer has certified to the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) that, as of the date of the certification, he was not aware of any violation by First Commonwealth of NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards. In addition, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have made certain certifications concerning the information contained in this report pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Section 302 certifications appear as Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 to this annual report on Form 10-K.

An investment in our common stock is subject to risks inherent to our business. The material risks and uncertainties that management believes affect us are described below. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information included or incorporated by reference in this report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties that management is not aware of or focused on or that management currently deems immaterial may also impair our business operations. This report is qualified in its entirety by these risk factors. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. If this were to happen, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related To Our Business

Interest Rate Risks

We Are Subject to Interest Rate Risk

Our earnings and cash flows are largely dependent upon our net interest income. Net interest income is the difference between interest income earned on interest-earning assets such as loans and securities and interest expense paid on interest-bearing liabilities such as deposits and borrowed funds. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies and, in particular, the Federal Open Market Committee. Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and securities and the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but such changes could also affect (i) our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits, (ii) the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities, and (iii) the average duration of our mortgage-backed securities portfolio. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings 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 borrowings. Some foreign central banks have moved to a negative interest rate environment, which has exerted downward pressure on the profitability of banks in those regions and this interest rate trend could extend to the United States. Any substantial, unexpected, or prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations under the section captioned “Net Interest Income” and Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk elsewhere in this report for further discussion related to interest rate sensitivity and our management of interest rate risk.

We May Be Adversely Impacted by the Transition from LIBOR as a Reference Rate

In 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that after 2021 it would no longer compel banks to submit the rates required to calculate the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). In November 2020, the administrator of LIBOR announced it would consult on its intention to extend the retirement date of certain offered rates, whereby the publication of the one-week and two-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings would cease after December 31, 2021, but the publication of the remaining U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings would continue until June 30, 2023. Given consumer protection, litigation, and reputation risks, in November 2020, following the administrator’s consultation announcement, the bank regulatory agencies indicated that entering into new contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021 would create safety and soundness risks and that they would examine bank practices accordingly. Therefore, the agencies encouraged banks to cease entering into new contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable and in any event by December 31, 2021. On March 5, 2021, the FCA and the administrator of LIBOR confirmed that immediately after December 31, 2021, publication of the one-week and two-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings would cease and immediately after June 30, 2023, any remaining U.S. dollar LIBOR settings would either cease to be published or no longer be representative.

Several alternative rates have emerged as potential alternatives to or replacements of LIBOR, with varying levels of market acceptance, and with varying levels of appropriateness depending on the particular institution, counterparty, or financial instrument in question. In particular, regulators, industry groups and certain committees (e.g., the Alternative Reference Rates Committee of the New York Fed (“ARRC”)) have, among other things, published recommended fallback language for LIBOR-linked financial instruments, identified recommended alternatives for certain LIBOR rates (e.g., Secured Overnight Financial Rate ("SOFR"), American Interbank Offered Rate ("AMERIBOR"), Bloomberg Short Term Bank Yield ("BSBY")), and proposed implementations of the recommended alternatives in floating rate instruments. Market acceptance of these various potential fallback and alternative rates continues to evolve. While the ARRC has recommended SOFR as its preferred fallback rate for LIBOR-linked instruments, the bank regulatory agencies have repeatedly indicated that they do not intend to recommend a specific fallback rate for use in place of LIBOR, and that financial institutions should “use any reference rate for its loans that the bank determined to be appropriate for its funding model and customer needs.”

While we ceased originating new contracts for LIBOR-linked financial instruments prior to December 31, 2021, we have a significant number of existing loans, derivative contracts, borrowings and other financial instruments with attributes that are either directly or indirectly dependent on LIBOR, and which will need to be transitioned prior to June 30, 2023. The transition from LIBOR has resulted in and could continue to result in added costs and employee efforts and could present additional risk. Since proposed alternative rates are calculated differently, payments under contracts referencing new rates will differ from those referencing LIBOR. The transition will change our market risk profiles, requiring changes to risk and pricing models, valuation tools, product design and hedging strategies. Furthermore, failure to adequately manage this transition process with our customers could adversely impact our reputation. Although we are currently unable to assess what the ultimate impact of the transition from LIBOR will be, failure to adequately manage the transition could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Credit and Lending Risks

We Are Subject to Lending Risk

There are inherent risks associated with our lending activities. These risks include, among other things, the impact of changes in interest rates and changes in the economic conditions in the markets where we operate as well as those across the United States. Increases in interest rates and/or weakening economic conditions could adversely impact the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans or the value of the collateral securing these loans.

We Are Subject to Risk Arising from Conditions in the Commercial Real Estate Market

As of December 31, 2021, commercial real estate mortgage loans comprised approximately 33% of our loan portfolio. Commercial real estate mortgage loans generally involve a greater degree of credit risk than residential real estate mortgage loans because they typically have larger balances and are more affected by adverse conditions in the economy. Because payments on loans secured by commercial real estate often depend upon the successful operation and management of the properties and the businesses which operate from within them, repayment of such loans may be affected by factors outside the borrower’s control, such as adverse conditions in the real estate market or the economy or changes in government regulations. In recent years, commercial real estate markets have been experiencing substantial growth, and increased competitive pressures have contributed significantly to historically low capitalization rates and rising property values. Furthermore, certain segments of the commercial real estate markets, such as office, hospitality and retail, have been particularly impacted by the economic disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the federal banking regulatory agencies have expressed concerns about weaknesses in the current commercial real estate market. Failures in our risk management policies, procedures and controls could adversely affect our ability to manage this portfolio going forward and could result in an increased rate of delinquencies in, and increased losses from, this portfolio, which, accordingly, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our Allowance for Credit Losses may be Insufficient

All borrowers carry the potential to default and our remedies to recover may not fully satisfy money previously loaned. We maintain an allowance for credit losses, which represents management’s best estimate of credit losses within the existing portfolio of loans. The allowance, in the judgment of management, is appropriate to reserve for estimated loan losses and risks inherent in the loan portfolio. The level of the allowance for credit losses reflects management’s continuing evaluation of industry concentrations, specific credit risks, loan loss experience, current loan portfolio quality, present economic conditions and unidentified losses in the current loan portfolio. The determination of the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses inherently involves a high degree of subjectivity and requires us to make significant estimates of current credit risks using existing qualitative and quantitative information, all of which may undergo material changes. Changes in economic conditions or forecasts, new information regarding existing loans, identification of additional problem loans and other factors, both within and outside of our control, may require an increase in the allowance for credit losses. In addition, bank regulatory agencies periodically review our allowance for credit losses and may require an increase in the provision for credit losses or the recognition of additional loan charge-offs, based on judgments different than those of management. An increase in the allowance for credit losses results in a decrease in net income or losses, and possibly risk-based capital, and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Liquidity Risk

We Are Subject to Liquidity Risk

We require liquidity to meet our deposit and debt obligations as they come due. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities or on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy generally. Factors that could reduce our access to liquidity sources include a downturn in the economy, difficult credit markets or adverse regulatory actions against us. Our access to deposits may also be affected by the liquidity needs of our depositors. In particular, a substantial majority of our liabilities are demand, savings, interest checking and money market deposits, which are payable on demand or upon several days’ notice, while by comparison, a substantial portion of our assets are loans, which cannot be called or sold in the same time frame. We may not be able to replace maturing deposits and advances as necessary in the future, especially if a large number of our depositors sought to withdraw their accounts, regardless of the reason. A failure to maintain adequate liquidity could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Operational Risks

Labor shortages and constraints in the supply chain could adversely affect our customers’ operations as well as our operations.

Many sectors in the United States and around the world are experiencing a shortage of workers. The shortage of workers is exacerbating supply chain disruptions around the world, causing certain industries to struggle to regain momentum due to a lack of workers or materials. Our commercial customers may be impacted by the shortage of workers and constraints in the supply chain, which could adversely impact our customers’ operations. Customers may experience disruptions in their operations, which could lead to reduced cash flow and difficulty in making loan repayments. The financial services industry has also been affected by the shortage of workers, and First Commonwealth has experienced the intense competition for talent that is currently underway in the financial services industry. This may lead to open positions remaining unfilled for longer periods of time or a need to increase wages to attract workers. We have had to recently increase wages in certain positions to attract talent, particularly in entry-level type positions and certain specialty areas.

Our Accounting Estimates and Risk Management Processes Rely On Analytical and Forecasting Models

The processes we use to estimate our expected credit losses and to measure the fair value of financial instruments, as well as the processes used to estimate the effects of changing interest rates and other market measures on our financial condition and results of operations, depends upon the use of analytical and forecasting models. These models reflect assumptions that may not be accurate, particularly in times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances. Even if these assumptions are adequate, the models may prove to be inadequate or inaccurate because of other flaws in their design or their implementation. If the models we use for interest rate risk and asset-liability management are inadequate, we may incur increased or unexpected losses upon changes in market interest rates or other market measures. If the models we use for estimating our expected credit losses are inadequate, the allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to support future charge-offs. If the models we use to measure the fair value of financial instruments are inadequate, the fair value of such financial instruments may fluctuate unexpectedly or may not accurately reflect what we could realize upon sale or settlement of such financial instruments. Any such failure in our analytical or forecasting models could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Value of Our Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets May Decline in the Future

As of December 31, 2021, we had $314.5 million of goodwill and other intangible assets. A significant decline in our expected future cash flows, a significant adverse change in the business climate, slower growth rates or a significant and sustained decline in the price of the Company’s common stock may necessitate taking charges in the future related to the impairment of our goodwill and other intangible assets which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We Are Subject to Risk Arising from Failure or Circumvention of Our Controls and Procedures

Our internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies and procedures are based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. Any failure or circumvention of our controls and procedures; failure to comply with regulations related to controls and procedures; or failure to comply with our corporate governance policies and procedures could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, notwithstanding the proliferation of technology and technology-based risk and control systems, our businesses ultimately rely on people as our greatest resource, and, from time-to-time, they make mistakes or engage in violations of applicable policies, laws, rules or procedures that are not always caught immediately by our technological processes or by our controls and other procedures, which are intended to prevent and detect such errors or violations. Human errors, malfeasance and other misconduct, including the intentional misuse of client information in connection with insider trading or for other purposes, even if promptly discovered and remediated, can result in reputational damage or legal risk and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

New Lines of Business, Products or Services and Technological Advancements May Subject Us to Additional Risks

From time to time, we implement new lines of business or offer new products and services within existing lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. In developing and marketing new lines of business and/or new products and services we invest significant time and resources. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new lines of business and/or new products or services may not be achieved and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible. External factors, such as compliance with regulations, competitive alternatives, and shifting market preferences, may also impact the successful implementation of a new line of business or a new product or service.

The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many 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. In addition, our implementation of certain new technologies, such as those related to artificial intelligence and algorithms, in our business processes may have unintended consequences due to their limitations or our failure to use them effectively. In addition, cloud technologies are also critical to the operation of our systems, and our reliance on cloud technologies is growing. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, any new line of business, new product or service and/or new technology could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of our system of internal controls. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business, new products or services and/or new technologies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our Reputation and our Business Are Subject to Negative Publicity Risk

Reputation risk, or the risk to our earnings and capital from negative public opinion, is inherent in our business. Negative public opinion could adversely affect our ability to keep and attract customers and expose us to adverse legal and regulatory consequences. Negative public opinion could result from our actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities, including lending practices, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and disclosure, sharing or inadequate protection of customer information, and from actions taken by government regulators and community organizations in response to that conduct. Negative public opinion could also result from adverse news or publicity that impairs the reputation of the financial services industry generally. In addition, our reputation or prospects may be significantly damaged by adverse publicity or negative information regarding us, whether or not true, that may be posted on social media, non-mainstream news services or other parts of the internet, and this risk is magnified by the speed and pervasiveness with which information is disseminated through those channels.

Our Business, Financial Condition and Results of Operations Are Subject to Risk from Changes in Customer Behavior

Individual, economic, political, industry-specific conditions and other factors outside of our control, such as fuel prices, energy costs, real estate values or other factors that affect customer income levels, could alter anticipated customer behavior, including borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices. Such a change in these practices could materially adversely affect our ability to anticipate business needs and meet regulatory requirements. Further, difficult economic conditions may negatively affect consumer confidence levels. A decrease in consumer confidence levels would likely aggravate the adverse effects of these difficult market conditions on us, our customers and others in the financial institutions industry.

First Commonwealth Relies on Dividends from its Subsidiary Bank for Most of Its Revenue

First Commonwealth is a separate and distinct legal entity from its subsidiaries. It receives substantially all of its revenues from dividends from its subsidiaries. These dividends are the principal source of funds to pay dividends on First Commonwealth’s common stock and interest and principal on First Commonwealth’s debt. Various federal and/or state laws and regulations limit the amount of dividends that FCB and certain non-bank subsidiaries may pay to First Commonwealth. In the event FCB is unable to pay dividends to First Commonwealth, First Commonwealth may not be able to service debt, pay obligations or pay dividends on its common stock. The inability to receive dividends from FCB could have a material adverse effect on First Commonwealth’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Acts of Cyber-Crime May Compromise Client and Company Information, Disrupt Access to Our Systems or Result in Loss of Client or Company Assets.

Our business is dependent upon the availability of technology, the Internet and telecommunication systems to enable financial transactions by clients, record and monitor transactions and transmit and receive data to and from clients and third parties. Information security risks have increased significantly due to the use of online, telephone and mobile banking channels by clients and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists and other external parties. Our technologies, systems, networks and our clients’ devices have been subject to, and are likely to continue to be the target of, cyber-attacks, computer viruses, malicious code, phishing attacks or information security breaches that could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of our or our clients’ confidential, proprietary and other information, the theft of client assets through fraudulent transactions or disruption of our or our clients’ or other third parties’ business operations.

Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable to attempted security breaches or disruptions because the techniques used in such attempts are constantly evolving and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures, and thus it is virtually impossible for us to entirely mitigate this risk. While we maintain specific “cyber” insurance coverage, which would apply in the event of various breach scenarios, the amount of coverage may not be adequate in any particular case. Furthermore, because cyber threat scenarios are inherently difficult to predict and can take many forms, some breaches may not be covered under our cyber insurance coverage. A security breach or other significant disruption of our information systems or those related to our customers, merchants or our third party vendors, including as a result of cyber attacks, could (i) disrupt the proper functioning of our networks and systems and therefore our operations and/or those of certain of our customers; (ii) result in the unauthorized access to, and destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information of ours or our customers; (iii) result in a violation of applicable privacy, data breach and other laws, subjecting us to additional regulatory scrutiny and exposing us to civil litigation, governmental fines and possible financial liability; (iv) require significant management attention and resources to remedy the damages that result; or (v) harm our reputation or cause a decrease in the number of customers that choose to do business with us. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our Operations Rely On Certain External Vendors

We rely on certain vendors to provide products and services necessary to maintain the day-to-day operations of First Commonwealth and FCB. In particular, we contracted with an external vendor for our core processing system used to maintain customer and account records, reflect account transactions and activity, and support our customer relationship management systems for substantially all of our deposit and loan customers. Accordingly, our operations are exposed to risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements. The failure of an external vendor to perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements, because of changes in the vendor’s organizational structure, financial condition, support for existing products and services or strategic focus or for any other reason, could be disruptive to First Commonwealth’s operations and financial reporting, which could have a material adverse effect on First Commonwealth’s business and, in turn, First Commonwealth’s financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our operations are exposed to risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements. Although we have selected these external vendors carefully, we do not control their actions. The failure of an external vendor to perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements, because of changes in the vendor’s organizational structure, financial condition, support for existing products and services or strategic focus or for any other reason, could be disruptive to our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and, in turn, our financial condition and results of operations. Replacing these external vendors could also entail significant delay and expense.

We Depend on the Accuracy and Completeness of Information About Customers and Counterparties

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions, we rely on information furnished by or on behalf of customers and counterparties, including financial statements, credit reports and other financial information. We also rely on representations of those customers, counterparties or other third parties, such as independent auditors, as to the accuracy and completeness of that information. Reliance on inaccurate or misleading financial statements, credit reports or other financial information could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

External and Market-Related Risks

We are Subject to Risk Arising from The Soundness of Other Financial Institutions and Counterparties

Financial services institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, or other relationships. We have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks, and other institutional clients. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of a default by a counterparty or client. In addition, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the credit or derivative exposure due to us. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Competition from Other Financial Institutions in Originating Loans, Attracting Deposits and Providing Various Financial Services May Adversely Affect Our Profitability.

We face substantial competition in originating loans and attracting deposits. This competition comes principally from other banks, savings institutions, mortgage banking companies and credit unions, as well as institutions offering uninsured investment alternatives, including money market funds. Many of our competitors enjoy advantages, including greater financial resources and higher lending limits, better brand recognition, a wider geographic presence, more accessible branch office locations, the ability to offer a wider array of services or more favorable pricing alternatives, as well as lower origination and operating costs. These competitors may offer more favorable pricing through lower interest rates on loans or higher interest rates on deposits, which could force us to match competitive rates and thereby reduce our net interest income.

Compliance and Regulatory Risks

We are Subject to Extensive Government Regulation and Supervision

Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors’ funds, federal deposit insurance funds and the banking system as a whole, not security holders. These regulations affect our lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, dividend policy and growth, among other things. Congress and federal regulatory agencies continually review banking laws, regulations and policies for possible changes. Changes to statutes, regulations or regulatory policies, including changes in interpretation or implementation of statutes, regulations or policies, could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could subject us to additional costs, limit the types of financial services and products we may offer and/or increase the ability of non-banks to offer competing financial services and products, among other things. Failure to comply with laws, regulations, policies or supervisory guidance could result in enforcement and other legal actions by Federal or state authorities, including criminal and civil penalties, the loss of FDIC insurance, the revocation of a banking charter, other sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil money penalties and/or reputational damage. In this regard, government authorities, including the bank regulatory agencies, are pursuing aggressive enforcement actions with respect to compliance and other legal matters involving financial activities, which heightens the risks associated with actual and perceived compliance failures. See “Supervision and Regulation” included in Item 1. Business for a more detailed description of the regulatory requirements applicable to First Commonwealth.

Risks Related to Acquisition Activity

Potential Acquisitions May Disrupt Our Business and Dilute Stockholder Value

We generally seek merger or acquisition partners that are culturally similar and have experienced management and possess either significant market presence or have potential for improved profitability through financial management, economies of scale or expanded services. Acquiring other banks, businesses, or branches involves various risks commonly associated with acquisitions, including, among other things, (i) potential exposure to unknown or contingent liabilities of the target company; (ii) exposure to potential asset quality issues of the target company; (iii) potential disruption to our business; (iv) potential diversion of our management’s time and attention; (v) the possible loss of key employees and customers of the target company; (vi) difficulty in estimating the value of the target company; and (vii) potential changes in banking or tax laws or regulations that may affect the target company.

Acquisitions typically involve the payment of a premium over book and market values, and, therefore, some dilution of our tangible book value and net income per common share may occur in connection with any future transaction. Furthermore, failure to realize the expected revenue increases, cost savings, increases in geographic or product presence, and/or other projected benefits from an acquisition could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Acquisitions May Be Delayed, Impeded, or Prohibited Due to Regulatory Issues

Acquisitions by financial institutions, including us, are subject to approval by a variety of federal and state regulatory agencies (collectively, “regulatory approvals”). The process for obtaining these required regulatory approvals has become substantially more difficult since the global financial crisis, and our ability to engage in certain merger or acquisition transactions depends on the bank regulators' views at the time as to our capital levels, quality of management, and overall condition, in addition to their assessment of a variety of other factors, including our compliance with law. Regulatory approvals could be delayed, impeded, restrictively conditioned or denied due to existing or new regulatory issues we have, or may have, with regulatory agencies, including, without limitation, issues related to Bank Secrecy Act compliance, Community Reinvestment Act issues, fair lending laws, fair housing laws, consumer protection laws, unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices regulations and other laws and regulations. We may fail to pursue, evaluate or complete strategic and competitively significant acquisition opportunities as a result of our inability, or perceived or anticipated inability, to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner, under reasonable conditions or at all. Difficulties associated with potential acquisitions that may result from these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Associated with Our Common Stock

The Trading Volume in Our Common Stock Is Less Than That of Other Larger Financial Services Companies

Although First Commonwealth’s common stock is listed for trading on the NYSE, the trading volume in its common stock is less than that of other, larger financial services companies. A public trading market having the desired characteristics of depth, liquidity and orderliness depends on the presence in the marketplace of willing buyers and sellers of First Commonwealth’s common stock at any given time. This presence depends on the individual decisions of investors and general economic and market conditions over which we have no control. Given the lower trading volume of First Commonwealth’s common stock, significant sales of First Commonwealth’s common stock, or the expectation of these sales, could cause First Commonwealth’s stock price to fall.

First Commonwealth May Not Continue to Pay Dividends on Its Common Stock in The Future

Holders of First Commonwealth common stock are only entitled to receive such dividends as its board of directors may declare out of funds legally available for such payments. Although First Commonwealth has historically declared cash dividends on its common stock, it is not required to do so and may reduce or eliminate its common stock dividend in the future. This could adversely affect the market price of First Commonwealth’s common stock. Also, First Commonwealth is a bank holding company, and its ability to declare and pay dividends is dependent on certain federal regulatory considerations, including the guidelines of the FRB regarding capital adequacy and dividends.

As more fully discussed in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data-Note 23, Regulatory Restrictions and Capital Adequacy, which is located elsewhere in this report, the ability of First Commonwealth to declare or pay dividends on its common stock may also be subject to certain restrictions in the event that First Commonwealth elects to defer the payment of interest on its junior subordinated debt securities.

An Investment in Our Common Stock Is Not an Insured Deposit

Our common stock is not a bank deposit and, therefore, is not insured against loss by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), any other deposit insurance fund or by any other public or private entity. Investment in our common stock is inherently risky for the reasons described in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this report and is subject to the same market forces that affect the price of common stock in any company. As a result, if you acquire our common stock, you could lose some or all of your investment.

Provisions of Our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Pennsylvania Law, as Well as State and Federal Banking Regulations, Could Delay or Prevent a Takeover of Us by a Third Party.

Provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws, the corporate law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and state and federal regulations could delay, defer or prevent a third party from acquiring us, despite the possible benefit to our shareholders, or otherwise adversely affect the price of our common stock. These provisions include, among other things, advance notice requirements for proposing matters that shareholders may act on at shareholder meetings. In addition, under Pennsylvania law, we are prohibited from engaging in a business combination with any interested shareholder for a period of five years from the date the person became an interested shareholder unless certain conditions are met. These provisions may discourage potential takeover attempts, discourage bids for our common stock at a premium over market price or adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of, our common stock.

Risks Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Our Business, Financial Condition, Liquidity and Results of Operations May Be Adversely Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that adversely affected our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. While the pandemic-related restrictions imposed by state and local governments have largely been lifted, COVID-19 continues to disrupt business and negatively impact consumer and business confidence. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to negatively affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted and many of which are outside of our control, including the scope and duration of the pandemic, the effectiveness of our business continuity and health emergency response plans, the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic on our employees, customers, clients, counterparties and service providers, as well as other market participants, and actions taken, or that may yet be taken, or inaction, by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic. Any disruption to our ability to deliver financial products or services to, or interact with, our clients and customers could result in losses or increased operational costs, regulatory fines, penalties and other sanctions, or harm our reputation.

General Risk Factors

We are Subject to Risk from Fluctuating Conditions in the Financial Markets and Economic and Political Conditions Generally

Our success depends, to a certain extent, upon local, national and global economic and political conditions, as well as governmental monetary policies. Our financial performance generally, and in particular the ability of borrowers to pay interest on and repay principal of outstanding loans and the value of collateral securing those loans, as well as demand for loans and other products and services we offer, is highly dependent upon the business environment in the markets where we operate and in the United States as a whole. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, economic growth, efficient capital markets, low inflation, low unemployment, high business and investor confidence, and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by a decline in economic growth both in the U.S. and internationally; declines in business activity or investor or business confidence; limitations on the availability of or increases in the cost of credit and capital; increases in inflation or interest rates; high unemployment; oil price volatility; natural disasters; trade policies and tariffs; or a combination of these or other factors. While recent economic conditions in the United States and worldwide have seen improving trends since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be no assurance that this improvement will continue. Economic pressure on consumers and uncertainty regarding continuing economic improvement could result in changes in consumer and business spending, borrowing and savings habits. Such conditions could have a material adverse effect on the credit quality of our loans and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in The Federal, State or Local Tax Laws May Negatively Impact Our Financial Performance and We Are Subject to Examinations and Challenges by Tax Authorities

We are subject to federal and applicable state tax laws and regulations. Changes in these tax laws and regulations, some of which may be retroactive to previous periods, could increase our effective tax rates and, as a result, could negatively affect our current and future financial performance. Furthermore, tax laws and regulations are often complex and require interpretation. In the normal course of business, we are routinely subject to examinations and challenges from federal and applicable state tax authorities regarding the amount of taxes due in connection with investments we have made and the businesses in which we have engaged. Recently, federal and state taxing authorities have become increasingly aggressive in challenging tax positions taken by financial institutions. These tax positions may relate to tax compliance, sales and use, franchise, gross receipts, payroll, property and income tax issues, including tax base, apportionment and tax credit planning. The challenges made by tax authorities may result in adjustments to the timing or amount of taxable income or deductions or the allocation of income among tax jurisdictions. If any such challenges are made and are not resolved in our favor, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We May Need to Raise Additional Capital in The Future, and Such Capital May Not Be Available When Needed or at All

We may need to raise additional capital in the future to provide us with sufficient capital resources and liquidity to meet our commitments and business needs, particularly if our asset quality or earnings were to deteriorate significantly. Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on, among other things, conditions in the capital markets at that time, which are outside of our control, and our financial condition. Economic conditions and the loss of confidence in financial institutions may increase our cost of funding and limit access to certain customary sources of capital, including inter-bank borrowings, repurchase agreements and borrowings from the discount window of the Federal Reserve.

We cannot assure that such capital will be available on acceptable terms or at all. Any occurrence that may limit our access to the capital markets, such as a decline in the confidence of debt purchasers, depositors of FCB or counterparties participating in the capital markets, or a downgrade of First Commonwealth’s or FCB’s debt ratings, may adversely affect our capital costs and our ability to raise capital and, in turn, our liquidity. Moreover, if we need to raise capital in the future, we may have to do so when many other financial institutions are also seeking to raise capital and would have to compete with those institutions for investors. An inability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms when needed could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our Stock Price Can Be Volatile

Stock price volatility may make it more difficult for you to resell your common stock when you want and at prices you find attractive. Our stock price can fluctuate significantly in response to a variety of factors including, among other things, (i) actual or anticipated variations in quarterly results of operations; (ii) recommendations by securities analysts; (iii) operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to us; (iv) news reports relating to trends, concerns and other issues in the financial services industry; (v) perceptions in the marketplace regarding us and/or our competitors; (vi) new technology used, or services offered, by competitors; (vii) the issuance by us of additional securities, including common stock and securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock; (viii) sales of a large block of shares of our common stock or similar securities in the market after an equity offering, or the perception that such sales could occur; (ix) significant acquisitions or business combinations, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by or involving us or our competitors; (x) failure to integrate acquisitions or realize anticipated benefits from acquisitions; (xi) changes in government regulations; and (xii) geopolitical conditions such as acts or threats of terrorism or military conflicts.

General market fluctuations, including real or anticipated changes in the strength of the economy; industry factors and general economic and political conditions and events, such as economic slowdowns or recessions; and interest rate changes, oil price volatility or credit loss trends could also cause our stock price to decrease regardless of operating results.

Changes in Accounting Standards Could Materially Impact Our Financial Statements

From time to time accounting standards setters change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. These changes can be difficult to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in changes to previously reported financial results or a cumulative charge to retained earnings. See New Accounting Pronouncements at the end of Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations elsewhere in this report for further information regarding pending accounting standards updates.

We May Not Be Able to Attract and Retain Skilled People

Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain key people. Competition for the best people in many activities engaged in by us is intense and we may not be able to hire people or to retain them. We do not currently have employment agreements or non-competition agreements with any of our senior officers. The unexpected loss of services of key personnel could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations because of their customer relationships, skills, knowledge of our market, years of industry experience and the difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement personnel. In addition, the scope and content of U.S. banking regulators' policies on incentive compensation, as well as changes to these policies, could adversely affect our ability to hire, retain and motivate our key employees.

Our principal office is located in the old Indiana County courthouse complex, consisting of the former courthouse building and the former sheriff’s residence and jail building for Indiana County. This certified Pennsylvania and national historic landmark was built in 1870 and restored by us in the early 1970s. We lease the complex from Indiana County pursuant to a lease agreement that was originally signed in 1973 and has a current term that expires in 2048.

The majority of our administrative personnel are also located in two owned buildings in Indiana, Pennsylvania, each of which is in close proximity to our principal office.

First Commonwealth Bank has 118 community banking offices, of which 44 are leased and 74 are owned. We also lease two mortgage loan production offices and four corporate loan production offices.

While these facilities are adequate to meet our current needs, available space is limited and additional facilities may be required to support future expansion. However, we have no significant plans to lease, purchase or construct additional administrative facilities.

The information required by this Item is set forth in Part II, Item 8, Note 20, “Contingent Liabilities,” which is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item.

The following discussion and analysis represents an overview of the financial condition and the results of operations of First Commonwealth, and its subsidiaries, as of and for the years ended December 31, 2021, and 2020. The purpose of this discussion is to focus on information concerning our financial condition and results of operations that is not readily apparent from the Consolidated Financial Statements. In order to obtain a more thorough understanding of this discussion, you should refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the notes thereto and other financial information presented in this Annual Report. Refer to Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2021 for a discussion and analysis of the factors that affected periods prior to 2020.

Company Overview

First Commonwealth provides a diversified array of consumer and commercial banking services through our bank subsidiary, FCB. We also provide trust and wealth management services through FCB and insurance products through FCIA. At December 31, 2021, FCB operated 118 community banking offices throughout western and central Pennsylvania and northeastern, central and southwestern Ohio, as well as loan production offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Columbus, Canton, Lewis Center, Hudson and Westlake, Ohio.

Our consumer services include Internet, mobile and telephone banking, an automated teller machine network, personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings accounts, health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection and IRA accounts. Commercial banking services include commercial lending, small and high-volume business checking accounts, on-line account management services, ACH origination, payroll direct deposit, commercial cash management services and repurchase agreements. We also provide a variety of trust and asset management services and a full complement of auto, home and business insurance as well as term life insurance. We offer annuities, mutual funds and stock and bond brokerage services through an arrangement with a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. Most of our commercial customers are small and mid-sized businesses in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

As a financial institution with a focus on traditional banking activities, we earn the majority of our revenue through net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and interest paid on deposits and borrowings. Growth in net interest income is dependent upon balance sheet growth and maintaining or increasing our net interest margin, which is net interest income (on a fully taxable-equivalent basis) as a percentage of our average interest-earning assets. We also generate revenue through fees earned on various services and products that we offer to our customers and, less frequently, through sales of assets, such as loans, investments or properties. These revenue sources are offset by provisions for credit losses on loans, operating expenses, income taxes and, less frequently, loss on sale or other-than-temporary impairments on investment securities.

General economic conditions also affect our business by impacting our customers’ need for financing, thus affecting loan growth, as well as impacting the credit strength of existing and potential borrowers.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Accounting Estimates

First Commonwealth’s accounting and reporting policies conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and predominant practice in the banking industry. The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Over time, these estimates, assumptions and judgments may prove to be inaccurate or vary from actual results and may significantly affect our reported results and financial position for the period presented or in future periods. We currently view the determination of the allowance for credit losses to be critical because it is highly dependent on subjective or complex judgments, assumptions and estimates made by management.

Allowance for Credit Losses

We account for the credit risk associated with our lending activities through the allowance and provision for credit losses. The allowance represents management’s best estimate of expected losses in our existing loan portfolio as of the balance sheet date. The provision is a periodic charge to earnings in an amount necessary to maintain the allowance at a level that is appropriate based on management’s assessment of expected losses. Management determines and reviews with the Board of Directors the appropriateness of the allowance on a quarterly basis in accordance with the methodology described below.

• Loans are segmented into groups with similar characteristics and risks and an allowance for credit losses is calculated for each segment based on the estimate of credit losses.
• The allowance for credit losses is calculated by pooling loans of similar credit risk characteristics and applying a discounted cash flow methodology after incorporating probability of default and loss given default estimates. Probability of default represents an estimate of the likelihood of default and loss given default measures the expected loss upon default. Inputs impacting the expected losses includes a forecast of macroeconomic factors, using a weighted forecast from a nationally recognized firm.
• Loans that do not have the same risks and characteristics of the loan pools are individually reviewed. These are generally large balance commercial loans and commercial mortgages that are rated less than “satisfactory” based on our internal credit-rating process.
• We assess whether the loans identified for review are “nonperforming,”. This means it is expected that all amounts will not be collected according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement, which generally represents loans that management has placed on nonaccrual status and accruing troubled debt restructurings.
• For individually analyzed loans we calculate the estimated fair value of the loans that are selected for review based on observable market prices, discounted cash flows or the value of the underlying collateral and record an allowance if needed.
• We then review the results to determine the appropriate balance of the allowance for credit losses. This review includes consideration of additional factors, such as the mix of loans in the portfolio, the balance of the allowance relative to total loans and nonperforming assets, trends in the overall risk profile in the portfolio, trends in delinquencies and nonaccrual loans, and local and national economic information and industry data, including trends in the industries we believe are higher risk.

There are many factors affecting the allowance for credit losses; some are quantitative, while others require qualitative judgment. These factors require the use of estimates related to the amount and timing of expected future cash flows, appraised values on nonperforming loans, estimated losses for each loan category based on historical loss experience, forecasts of economic trends and conditions, all of which may be susceptible to significant judgment and change. To the extent that actual outcomes differ from estimates, additional provisions for credit losses could be required that could adversely affect our earnings or financial position in future periods.

Selected Financial Information

The following table provides selected financial information for the periods ended December 31,

(dollars in thousands, except share data)

Results for 2021 and 2020 reflect accounting for the allowance for credit losses under the current expected credit loss methodology, while results prior to 2020 reflect accounting under the incurred methodology.

Results of Operations—2021 Compared to 2020

Net Income

Net income for 2021 was $138.3 million, or $1.44 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $73.4 million, or $0.75 per diluted share in 2020. The increase in net income was the result of a $58.1 million decline in provision for credit losses and an increase of $10.3 million and $12.3 million in net interest income and noninterest income, respectively.

Our return on average equity was 12.6% and our return on average assets was 1.47% for 2021, compared to 6.8% and 0.82%, respectively, for 2020.

Average diluted shares for the year 2021 were 2% less than the comparable period in 2020 primarily due to $31.3 million of common stock buybacks completed during 2021.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income, which is our primary source of revenue, is the difference between interest income from earning assets (loans and securities) and interest expense paid on liabilities (deposits, short-term borrowings and long-term debt). The amount of net interest income is affected by both changes in the level of interest rates and the amount and composition of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities. The net interest margin is expressed as the percentage of net interest income, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, to average interest-earning assets. To compare the tax exempt asset yields to taxable yields, amounts are adjusted to the pretax equivalent amounts based on the marginal corporate federal income tax rate of 21%. The taxable equivalent adjustment to net interest income for 2021 was $1.1 million compared to $1.5 million in 2020. Net interest income comprises a majority of our operating revenue (net interest income before provision expense plus noninterest income) at 72% and 74% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Net interest income, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, was $279.6 million for the year-ended December 31, 2021, a $9.9 million, or 4%, increase compared to $269.7 million for the same period in 2020. The net interest margin, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, decreased 6 basis points to 3.26% in 2021 from 3.32% in 2020. The net interest margin is affected by both changes in the level of interest rates and the amount and composition of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities.

The impact of growth in interest-earning assets in 2021 was offset by the effect of the mix of the asset growth and lower interest rates, resulting in a decrease in the net interest margin for the year ended December 31, 2021. Average earning assets for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased $458.5 million, or 6%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The change in the volume of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities positively increased net interest income by $12.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, while changes in rates negatively impacted net interest income by $2.3 million. Interest-sensitive assets totaling $4.6 billion will either reprice or mature over the next twelve months.

The taxable equivalent yield on interest-earning assets was 3.43% for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of 29 basis points from the 3.72% yield for the same period in 2020. This change is primarily due to a decrease in the yield on our adjustable and variable rate commercial loan portfolios, which decreased by 56 basis points largely due to loans repricing in a lower interest rate environment after the Federal Reserve decreased short-term interest rates by 150 basis points in the first quarter of 2020. Also contributing to this decline was the yield on the investment portfolio, which decreased by 41 basis points compared to the prior year.

The loan yield for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased 14 basis points and was impacted by $312.7 million in average Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans outstanding during the period. These loans were originated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") and had a stated loan rate of 1% and a yield of 7.4% and 3.2% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. The yield on PPP loans includes the recognition of PPP loan deferred processing fees, net of deferred origination costs, of $19.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and $8.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. These amounts are recognized in interest income as a yield adjustment over the life of the loan with accelerated recognition when a loan is forgiven or paid off. As of December 31, 2021, we expect to recognize additional PPP-related deferred processing fees, net of origination costs, of approximately $2.6 million as an adjustment to yield over the remaining life of the loans. At December 31, 2021, the balance of PPP loans outstanding totaled $71.3 million. PPP loans generated $23.2 million in income during the year ended December 31, 2021 and increased both the yield on total loans and the net interest margin by 16 basis points. During the year ended December 31, 2020, PPP loans generated $12.1 million in income decreasing the loan portfolio yield by 6 basis points and the net interest margin by 1 basis point. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company originated $255.8 million in new PPP loans and processed forgiveness on $764.0 million of PPP loans.

The investment portfolio yield decreased 41 basis points in comparison to the prior year as a result of the decrease in short-term interest rates. Investment portfolio purchases during the year ended December 31, 2021 have been primarily in obligations of U.S. government agencies, obligations of other government-sponsored enterprises and obligations of states and political subdivisions with durations of approximately four to five years and corporate bonds with a duration of nine years. Additionally, as a result of excess liquidity caused by significant growth in deposits, the average balance of interest-bearing deposits with banks has increased from $179.2 million in 2020 to $317.5 million in 2021. The impact of the level and rate paid on interest-bearing deposits with banks decreased the yield on interest-earnings assets by 13 basis points for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Decreases in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities offset the negative impact of lower yields on interest-earning assets. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 0.27% for the year-ended December 31, 2021, compared to 0.58% for the same period in 2020. Lower market interest rates resulted in the cost of interest-bearing deposits decreasing 31 basis points and short-term borrowings decreasing 41 basis points in comparison to the same period in the prior year. Deposit growth contributed to a decline in average short-term borrowings of $22.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Average long-term debt decreased $32.7 million, while the cost of long-term debt increased by 31 basis points due to the maturity of lower costing borrowings.

Comparing the year ended December 31, 2021 with the same period in 2020, changes in rates negatively impacted net interest income by $2.3 million. The lower yield on interest-earning assets decreased net interest income by $15.3 million, while the decrease in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities positively impacted net interest income by $13.1 million.

Changes in the volume of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities positively increased net interest income by $12.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Higher levels of interest-earning assets resulted in an increase of $7.6 million in interest income, and changes in the volume of interest-bearing liabilities decreased interest expense by $4.6 million, primarily due to decreases in long-term borrowings and time deposits.

Positively affecting net interest income was a $531.5 million increase in average net free funds at December 31, 2021 as compared to December 31, 2020. Average net free funds are the excess of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, other noninterest-bearing liabilities and shareholders’ equity over noninterest-earning assets. The largest component of the increase in net free funds was a $479.0 million increase in average noninterest-bearing demand deposits primarily due to deposit growth related to PPP loan proceeds. Average time deposits for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased $277.3 million, or 38%, compared to the comparable period in 2020, while the average rate paid on time deposits decreased 91 basis points. Over the next twelve months, $276.0 million in certificates of deposits are scheduled to mature.

The following table reconciles interest income in the Consolidated Statements of Income to net interest income adjusted to a fully taxable equivalent basis for the periods presented:

(dollars in thousands)

32

The following table provides information regarding the average balances and yields or rates on interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities for the periods ended December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

(a) Income on interest-earning assets has been computed on a fully taxable equivalent basis using the federal income tax statutory rate of 21%.

(b) Income on nonaccrual loans is accounted for on the cash basis, and the loan balances are included in interest-earning assets.

(c) Loan income includes loan fees.

(d) Average balances do not include reallocations from noninterest-bearing demand deposits and interest-bearing demand deposits into savings deposits which were made for regulatory purposes.

(e) Includes held for sale loans.

The following table sets forth certain information regarding changes in net interest income attributable to changes in the volume of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities and changes in the rates for the periods indicated:

(dollars in thousands)

(a) Changes in interest income or expense not arising solely as a result of volume or rate variances are allocated to rate variances.

(b) Changes in interest income have been computed on a fully taxable equivalent basis using the 21% federal income tax statutory rate.

Provision for Credit Losses

The provision for credit losses is determined based on management’s estimates of the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses needed to provide for expected losses inherent in the loan portfolio and on off-balance sheet commitments. The provision for credit losses is an amount added to the allowance against which credit losses are charged.

The provision is a result of management's estimate of credit losses over the contractual life of the loan portfolio. The change in the allowance for credit is impacted by estimated expected losses in the portfolio determined by a discounted cash flow analysis considering inputs such as contractual payment schedules, prepayment estimates, historical loss experience, calculated probability of default and loss given default estimates and forecasts for certain macroeconomic variables, such as unemployment, gross domestic product and the housing price index as well as other macroeconomic variables.

The provision for credit losses for loans for 2021 totaled a $0.4 million negative provision, a decrease of $53.8 million, or 100.7%, compared to 2020. The level of provision expense for the year-ended December 31, 2021 is primarily a result of an improved economic forecast, which reflects a decline in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and expected loan losses. The provision for credit losses was also impacted by a decrease of $4.5 million in reserves on individually analyzed loans. Contributing to the decline in provision for credit losses was a $4.2 million decrease in expense related to lower reserves for off-balance sheet commitments.

Provision expense for the commercial, financial, agricultural and other category was impacted by net charge-offs of $4.6 million, offset by a decrease in outstanding balances, excluding PPP loans. Because PPP loans are fully guaranteed by the Small Business Administration ("SBA"), there is no allowance for credit losses recognized for these loans. Provision expense for real estate construction and residential real estate can be attributed to improved economic factors. Provision expense for the commercial real estate category is a result of $1.5 million in net charge-offs offset by a $4.9 million decrease in general reserves due to improved economic factors as well as a $3.5 million decrease in specific reserves. Net charge-offs related to loans to individuals were $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, including $0.8 million for indirect auto loans and $1.5 million related to other consumer loans. The provision expense for loans to individuals was also impacted by growth in the portfolio of $184.2 million.

The table below provides a breakout of the provision for credit losses by loan category for the years ended December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

The level of provision expense for the year-ended December 31, 2020 totaled $53.5 million and primarily was a result of $17.2 million in net charge-offs and an increase in the allowance for credit losses resulting from the implementation of CECL. The expected loss methodology uses an economic forecast which at December 31, 2020 incorporated uncertainty and risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The allowance for credit losses was $92.5 million, or 1.35%, of total loans outstanding at December 31, 2021, compared to $101.3 million, or 1.50%, at December 31, 2020. Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans increased slightly to 0.81% at December 31, 2021 from 0.80% at December 31, 2020. The allowance to nonperforming loan ratio was 167.7% as of December 31, 2021 and 187.4% at December 31, 2020. Net charge-offs were $8.4 million for the year-ended December 31, 2021 compared to $17.2 million for the same period in 2020.

Upon adoption of CECL at January 1, 2020, the provision for credit losses on off-balance sheet credit exposures are recorded as part of the provision for credit losses instead of a component of non-interest expense as it previously was recorded. The provision for credit losses recorded for off-balance sheet credit exposures totaled a negative provision of $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and provision expense of $3.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Management believes that the allowance for credit losses is at a level deemed appropriate to absorb expected losses inherent in the loan portfolio at December 31, 2021.

A detailed analysis of our credit loss experience for the previous five years is shown below:

(dollars in thousands)

36

Noninterest Income

The components of noninterest income for each year in the three-year period ended December 31 are as follows:

(dollars in thousands)

Noninterest income, excluding net securities gains, gain on sale of mortgage loans, gain on sale of other loans and assets and the derivatives mark to market, increased $9.4 million, or 13%, in 2021. Card related interchange income increased $4.0 million due to growth in customer accounts and transactions and trust income increased $2.0 million due to growth in assets under management. Service charges on deposit accounts increased $1.6 million as customer activity began to return to pre-COVID levels and swap fee income increased $1.0 million due to an increase in interest rate swaps entered into for our commercial customers.

Total noninterest income increased $12.3 million, or 13%, in comparison to the year ended December 31, 2020. The most significant change, other than the changes noted above, includes a $4.9 million increase in the mark to market adjustment on interest rate swaps entered into for our commercial customers. This adjustment does not reflect a realized gain on the swaps, but rather relates to a change in fair value due to movements in corporate bond spreads and swap rates as well as changes in counterparty credit risk. Gain on sale of other loans and assets increased $3.3 million due to an increase in the sale of other loans, primarily SBA loans, in comparison to the prior year. Partially offsetting these increases is a decrease of $5.2 million in gain on sale of mortgage loans due to a decline in volume and spread received on mortgage loans sold.

If the Company's total assets would equal or exceed $10 billion we would no longer qualify for exemption from the interchange fee cap included in the Dodd-Frank Act. We estimate the application of the interchange fee cap would have decreased interchange income by approximately $13.8 million in 2021.

Noninterest Expense

The components of noninterest expense for each year in the three-year period ended December 31 are as follows:

(dollars in thousands)

Total noninterest expense decreased $2.0 million, or 1%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. Contributing to the decline in expense is the recognition in 2020 of $3.4 million in voluntary early retirement expense and $2.7 million in branch consolidation expense. There was no similar activity during the year ended December 31, 2021. Also contributing to the decrease in noninterest expense is a $1.1 million decline in net occupancy expense resulting from savings related to the branch consolidation efforts in 2020 more than offsetting increases in this expense.

Offsetting these decreases is an increase of $1.9 million in other operating expenses resulting from a $1.2 million credit in unfunded commitment expense recognized in 2020, with no similar credit in 2021. As a result of the adoption of CECL, the unfunded commitment expense is now recorded as part of provision for credit losses. Data processing expense increased $1.8 million due to updates to our digital banking product offerings.

Income Tax

The provision for income taxes of $34.6 million in 2021 reflects an increase of $17.8 million compared to the provision for income taxes in 2020, as a result of a $82.6 million increase in the level of income before taxes.

The effective tax rate was 20.0% and 18.6% for tax expense in 2021 and 2020, respectively. We ordinarily generate an annual effective tax rate that is less than the statutory rate due to benefits resulting from tax-exempt interest, income from bank owned life insurance, and tax benefits associated with low income housing tax credits, all of which are relatively consistent regardless of the level of pretax income.

Financial Condition

First Commonwealth’s total assets increased $477.0 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to December 31, 2020. Loans, including loans held for sale, increased $63.2 million, or 1%, and investment securities increased $389.6 million, or 33%. Loan growth in 2021 was impacted by a decrease of $407.6 million in PPP loans as a result of SBA forgiveness and payments. As of December 31, 2021 outstanding PPP loans totaled $71.3 million compared to $478.9 million at December 31, 2020. The increase in investment securities can be attributed to the liquidity provided from the decline in PPP loans as well as increases in noninterest-bearing deposits of $338.8 million, or 15%, and interest-bearing deposits of $205.0 million, or 4%.

During 2021, approximately $554.6 million in investment securities were sold, called or matured. Most of these securities were higher yielding securities in comparison to the total portfolio yield and, as such, their replacement contributed to the decrease in the yield earned on the portfolio. In total, $21.6 million in agency securities, $994.4 million in mortgage-backed securities, $3.2 million in municipal securities, $19.2 million in corporate securities and $0.2 million in other securities were purchased in 2021 in order to invest excess liquidity and help replace runoff from the portfolio while maintaining a reduced risk profile.

First Commonwealth’s total liabilities increased $436.2 million, or 5%, in 2021. Deposits increased $543.8 million, or 7%. The increase in deposits is a result of elevated customer balances from PPP loan proceeds and the deposit of Federal Stimulus checks. Short-term borrowings decreased $20.9 million, or 18%, largely due to maturities and additional liquidity provided from the increase in deposits.

Total shareholders' equity increased $40.8 million in 2021. Growth in shareholders' equity was the result of net income of $138.3 million partially offset by a $26.0 million decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income, $43.6 million in dividends declared and $31.3 million in stock repurchases.

Loan Portfolio

Following is a summary of our loan portfolio as of December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

The loan portfolio totaled $6.8 billion as of December 31, 2021, reflecting growth of $78.0 million, or 1%, compared to December 31, 2020. All categories experienced loan growth, except for commercial, financial, agricultural and other.

Commercial, financial, agricultural and other loans decreased $382.5 million, or 25%, as a result of a $407.6 million decline in PPP loans due to SBA forgiveness and payments. These loans carry a fixed rate of 1.00% and yielded 7.4% in 2021 after considering origination fees and costs recognized over the life of the loan or accelerated recognition at payoff or forgiveness.

Residential real estate loans increased $169.7 million, or 10%, primarily due to originations of first lien closed-end 1-4 family mortgage loans. Growth in the loans to individuals category of $184.2 million, or 23%, was the result of growth in indirect auto loans.

The majority of our loan portfolio is with borrowers located in the state of Pennsylvania. The Company also has a portion of its loan portfolio in Ohio as a result of four recent acquisitions in that state. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were no concentrations of loans relating to any industry in excess of 10% of total loans.

Final loan maturities and rate sensitivities of the loan portfolio excluding consumer installment and mortgage loans at December 31, 2021 were as follows:

(dollars in thousands)

(a) The maturities of real estate construction loans include term commitments that follow the construction period. Loans with these term commitments will be moved to the commercial real estate category when the construction phase of the project is completed.

First Commonwealth has a legal lending limit of $156.3 million to any one borrower or closely related group of borrowers, but has established lower thresholds for credit risk management.

Nonperforming Loans

Nonperforming loans include nonaccrual loans and restructured loans. Nonaccrual loans represent loans on which interest accruals have been discontinued. Restructured loans are those loans whose terms have been renegotiated to provide a reduction or deferral of principal or interest as a result of the deteriorating financial position of the borrower under terms not available in the market.

We discontinue interest accruals on a loan when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will be unable to fully collect principal or interest due according to the contractual terms of the loan. Consumer loans are placed in nonaccrual status at 150 days past due. Other types of loans are typically placed in nonaccrual status when there is evidence of a significantly weakened financial condition or principal and interest is 90 days or more delinquent. Interest received on a nonaccrual loan is normally applied as a reduction to loan principal rather than interest income utilizing the cost recovery methodology of revenue recognition.

Nonperforming loans are closely monitored on an ongoing basis as part of our loan review and work-out process. The estimated credit loss on these loans is evaluated by comparing the loan balance to the fair value of any underlying collateral and the present value of projected future cash flows. Losses are recognized when a loss is expected and the amount is reasonably estimable.

The following is a comparison of nonperforming assets and the effects on interest due to nonaccrual loans for the period ended December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

(a) End of period loans and nonperforming loans exclude loans held for sale.

Nonperforming loans increased $1.1 million to $55.2 million at December 31, 2021, compared to $54.1 million at December 31, 2020. Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans increased to 0.81% from 0.80% at December 31, 2021 compared to December 31, 2020.

Also included in nonperforming loans are TDRs, which are those loans whose terms have been renegotiated to provide a reduction or deferral of principal or interest as a result of the deteriorating financial position of the borrower under terms not available in the market. TDRs decreased $3.0 million during 2021. For additional information on TDRs please refer to Note 8 “Loans and Allowance for Credit Losses.”

In March 2020, the Company began offering short-term loan modifications to assist borrowers during the COVID-19 national

emergency. These modifications typically provide for the deferral of both principal and interest for 90 days. The CARES Act,

along with a joint agency statement issued by banking regulators, provides that modifications meeting certain criteria made in

response to COVID-19 do not need to be accounted for as a TDR. As of December 31, 2020 the Company has granted approximately 6,800 deferrals to its customers with aggregate principal balances of $1.4 billion. As of December 31, 2021, the balance of loans in deferral status had fallen to $6.2 million.

Net charge-offs were $8.4 million in 2021 compared to $17.2 million for the year 2020. The most significant credit losses recognized during the year include $5.3 million in charge-offs recognized on two commercial, financial, agricultural and other relationships and a $1.4 million charge-off recognized on a commercial real estate relationship. Net charge-offs in the loans to individuals category totaled $2.6 million for 2021, primarily due to charge-offs of indirect auto loans. Additional detail on credit risk is included in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under “Provision for Credit Losses,” “Allowance for Credit Losses" and "Credit Risk.”

Provision for credit losses on loans as a percentage of net charge-offs decreased to a negative 4.5% for the year ended December 31, 2021 from 311.0% for the year ended December 31, 2020. This change is primarily due to the implementation of CECL and the uncertainty and risks of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and the economic forecast in the year ended December 31, 2020.

Allowance for Credit Losses

Following is a summary of the allocation of the allowance for credit losses at December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

(a) Represents the ratio of loans in each category to total loans.

On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, providing banking organizations with optional, temporary relief

from complying with CECL. The Company elected to defer its adoption of CECL until the fourth quarter 2020. At the end of the deferral period, CECL was adopted effective January 1, 2020, therefore December 31, 2020 results reflect a full years impact of accounting for the allowance for credit losses under CECL.

The allowance for credit losses decreased $8.8 million from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of end-of-period loans outstanding was 1.35% at December 31, 2021. The decrease compared to December 31, 2020 is primarily due to improved economic forecasts, reflecting a decline in the expected impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy during 2021. The increased level of the allowance for credit losses at December 31, 2021 and 2020, compared to prior years is a result of calculating the allowance in those years in accordance with CECL, which provides for expected losses over the life of a loan. Prior years allowance for credit losses was calculated to provide for credit losses as they were incurred. The allowance for credit losses includes both a general reserve for performing loans and reserves for individually analyzed loans. Comparing December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2020, the general reserve for performing loans is 1.36% and 1.43%, respectively, of total performing loans for both periods. Reserves for individually analyzed loans decreased from 9.1% of nonperforming loans at December 31, 2020 to 0.7% of nonperforming loans at December 31, 2021. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans was 167.7% and 187.4% at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The allowance for credit losses represents management’s estimate of expected losses in the loan portfolio at a specific point in time. This estimate includes losses associated with specifically identified loans, as well as estimated credit losses inherent in the remainder of the loan portfolio. Additions are made to the allowance through both periodic provisions charged to income and recoveries of losses previously incurred. Reductions to the allowance occur as loans are charged off. Management evaluates the appropriateness of the allowance at least quarterly, and in doing so relies on various factors including, but not limited to, assessment of historical loss experience, contractual payment schedules, prepayment estimates, calculated probability of default and loss given default estimates and forecasts of certain macroeconomic variables, such as unemployment, gross domestic product, housing price index as well as other macroeconomic variables. This evaluation is subjective and requires material estimates that may change over time. For a description of the methodology used to calculate the allowance for credit losses, please refer to “Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Accounting Estimates—Allowance for Credit Losses for Loans.”

Investment Portfolio

Marketable securities that we hold in our investment portfolio, which are classified as “securities available for sale,” act as a source of liquidity. However, we do not anticipate liquidating the investments prior to maturity.

Following is a detail schedule of the amortized cost of securities available for sale as of December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

As of December 31, 2021, securities available for sale had a fair value of $1.0 billion. Gross unrealized gains were $9.5 million and gross unrealized losses were $13.7 million.

The following is a schedule of the contractual maturity distribution of securities available for sale at December 31, 2021.

(dollars in thousands)

(a) Equities are excluded from this schedule because they have an indefinite maturity.

(b) Yields are calculated on a taxable equivalent basis.

Mortgage-backed securities, which include mortgage-backed obligations of U.S. Government agencies and obligations of U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises, have contractual maturities ranging from less than one year to approximately 45 years and have anticipated average lives to maturity ranging from less than three years to approximately five years.

The available for sale investment portfolio amortized cost increased $240.1 million, or 30%, at December 31, 2021 compared to 2020. Available for sale investment purchases of $676.9 million were offset by the sale, call or maturity of $433.9 million in investments. Liquidity provided from sales, calls and maturities was utilized to fund growth in the loan portfolio or reinvested into investment securities and interest bearing deposits with banks.

Following is a detail schedule of the amortized cost of securities held to maturity as of December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

The following is a schedule of the contractual maturity distribution of securities held to maturity at December 31, 2021.

(dollars in thousands)

The held to maturity investment portfolio increased $179.5 million, or 50%, at December 31, 2021 compared to 2020. Held to maturity investment purchases of $361.7 million were offset by the sale, call or maturity of $120.7 million in investments.

See Note 7 “Investment Securities" and Note 16 “Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities” for additional information related to the investment portfolio.

Deposits

Total deposits increased $543.8 million, or 7%, in 2021. Interest-bearing demand and savings deposits increased $382.9 million, noninterest-bearing demand deposits increased $338.8 million and time deposits decreased $177.9 million. The increase in deposits can be attributed to elevated customer deposit balances from PPP loan proceeds and the deposit of Federal stimulus checks. For additional information concerning our deposits, please refer to Note 12 “Interest-Bearing Deposits.”

Time deposits of $100 thousand or more had remaining maturities as follows as of the end of each year in the three-year period ended December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt

Short-term borrowings increased $20.9 million, or 18%, from $117.4 million at December 31, 2020 to $138.3 million at December 31, 2021. Long-term debt decreased $51.0 million, from $233.3 million at December 31, 2020 to $182.3 million at December 31, 2021. For additional information concerning our short-term borrowings, subordinated debentures and other long-term debt, please refer to Note 13 “Short-term Borrowings,” Note 14 “Subordinated Debentures” and Note 15 “Other Long-term Debt” of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

The table below sets forth our contractual obligations to make future payments as of December 31, 2021. For a more detailed description of each category of obligation, refer to the note in our Consolidated Financial Statements indicated in the table below.

(dollars in thousands)

The table above excludes our cash obligations upon maturity of certificates of deposit, which is set forth in Note 12 “Interest-Bearing Deposits” of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In addition, see Note 9 “Commitments and Letters of Credit” for detail related to our off-balance sheet commitments to extend credit, financial standby letters of credit, performance standby letters of credit and commercial letters of credit as of December 31, 2021. Commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit and commercial letters of credit do not necessarily represent future cash requirements since it is unknown if the borrower will draw upon these commitments and often these commitments expire without being drawn upon. As of December 31, 2021, a reserve for expected credit losses of $6.4 million was recorded for unused commitments and letters of credit.

Liquidity

Liquidity refers to our ability to meet the cash flow requirements of depositors and borrowers as well as our operating cash needs with cost-effective funding. Liquidity risk arises from the possibility that we may not be able to meet our financial obligations and operating cash needs or may become overly reliant upon external funding sources. In order to manage this risk, our Board of Directors has established a Liquidity Policy that identifies primary sources of liquidity, establishes procedures for monitoring and measuring liquidity and quantifies minimum liquidity requirements based on limits approved by our Board of Directors. This policy designates our Asset/Liability Committee (“ALCO”) as the body responsible for meeting these objectives. The ALCO, which includes members of executive management, reviews liquidity on a periodic basis and approves significant changes in strategies that affect balance sheet or cash flow positions. Liquidity is centrally managed on a daily basis by our Treasury Department, which monitors it by using such measures as a 30-day liquidity stress analysis, liquidity gap ratios and noncore funding ratios.

We generate funds to meet our cash flow needs primarily through the core deposit base of FCB and the maturity or repayment of loans and other interest-earning assets, including investments. Core deposits are the most stable source of liquidity a bank can have due to the long-term relationship with a deposit customer. The level of deposits during any period is sometimes influenced by factors outside of management’s control, such as the level of short-term and long-term market interest rates and yields offered on competing investments, such as money market mutual funds. Deposits increased $543.8 million, or 7%, during 2021, and comprised 95% of total liabilities at December 31, 2021, as compared to 93% at December 31, 2020. The increase in deposits in 2021 is a result of elevated customer deposit balances from PPP loan proceeds and the deposit of Federal stimulus checks into our customer's deposit accounts. Proceeds from the sale, maturity and redemption of investment securities totaled $554.6 million during 2021 and provided liquidity to fund loans, pay down short-term borrowings, purchase investment securities and fund depositor withdrawals.

We also have available unused wholesale sources of liquidity, including overnight federal funds and repurchase agreements, advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, borrowings through the discount window at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and access to certificates of deposit through brokers. We have increased our borrowing capacity at the Federal Reserve by establishing a Borrower-in-Custody of Collateral arrangement that enables us to pledge certain loans, not being used as collateral at the Federal Home Loan Bank, as collateral for borrowings at the Federal Reserve. At December 31, 2021 our borrowing capacity at the Federal Reserve related to this program was $982.1 million and there were no amounts outstanding. Additionally, as of December 31, 2021, our maximum borrowing capacity at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh was $1.9 billion and as of that date amounts used against this capacity included $5.6 million in outstanding borrowings.

We participate in the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Services (“CDARS”) program as part of an ALCO strategy to increase and diversify funding sources. As of December 31, 2021, our maximum borrowing capacity under this program was $1.0 billion and as of that date there was $5.8 million outstanding. We also participate in a reciprocal program which allows our depositors to receive expanded FDIC coverage by placing multiple certificates of deposit at other CDARS member banks. As of December 31, 2021, our outstanding certificates of deposits from this program have an average weighted rate of 0.57% and an average original term of 341 days.

We also have available unused federal funds lines with four correspondent banks. These lines have an aggregate commitment of $160.0 million and there were no amounts outstanding as of December 31, 2021. In addition, we have available unused repo lines with three correspondent banks. These lines have an aggregate commitment of $875.2 million with no outstanding balance as of December 31, 2021.

The liquidity needs of First Commonwealth on an unconsolidated basis (the "Parent Company") consist primarily of operating expenses, debt service payments and dividend payments to our stockholders, which collectively totaled $51.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as well as any cash necessary to repurchase our shares, which totaled $31.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary source of liquidity for the Parent Company is dividends from subsidiaries. The Parent Company had $72.2 million in junior subordinated debentures and cash and interest-bearing deposits of $11.6 million at December 31, 2021. At the end of 2021, the Parent Company had a $20.0 million short-term, unsecured revolving line of credit with another financial institution. As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under this line. The Parent Company has the ability to enhance its liquidity position by raising capital or incurring debt.

Refer to “Financial Condition” above for additional information concerning our deposits, loan portfolio, investment securities and borrowings.

Market Risk

Market risk refers to potential losses arising from changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices and commodity prices. Our market risk is composed primarily of interest rate risk. Interest rate risk is comprised of repricing risk, basis risk, yield curve risk and options risk. Repricing risk arises from differences in the cash flow or repricing between asset and liability portfolios. Basis risk arises when asset and liability portfolios are related to different market rate indices, which do not always change by the same amount. Yield curve risk arises when asset and liability portfolios are related to different maturities on a given yield curve; when the yield curve changes shape, the risk position is altered. Options risk arises from “embedded options”

within asset and liability products as certain borrowers have the option to prepay their loans when rates fall, while certain depositors can redeem or withdraw their deposits early when rates rise.

The process by which we manage our interest rate risk is called asset/liability management. The goals of our asset/liability management are increasing net interest income without taking undue interest rate risk or material loss of net market value of our equity, while maintaining adequate liquidity. Net interest income is increased by growing earning assets and increasing the difference between the rate earned on earning assets and the rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities. Liquidity is measured by the ability to meet both depositors’ and credit customers’ requirements.

We use an asset/liability model to measure our interest rate risk. Interest rate risk measures include earnings simulation and gap analysis. Gap analysis is a static measure that does not incorporate assumptions regarding future events. Gap analysis, while a helpful diagnostic tool, displays cash flows for only a single rate environment. Net interest income simulations explicitly measure the exposure to earnings from changes in market rates of interest. Under simulation analysis, our current financial position is combined with assumptions regarding future business to calculate net interest income under various hypothetical rate scenarios. Our net interest income simulations assume a level balance sheet whereby new volume equals run-off. The ALCO reviews earnings simulations over multiple years under various interest rate scenarios. Reviewing these various measures provides us with a reasonably comprehensive view of our interest rate profile.

The following gap analysis compares the difference between the amount of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities subject to repricing over a period of time. The ratio of rate sensitive assets to rate sensitive liabilities repricing within a one-year period was 0.84 and 0.51 at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. A ratio of less than one indicates a higher level of repricing liabilities over repricing assets over the next twelve months. The level of First Commonwealth's ratio is largely driven by the modeling of interest-bearing non-maturity deposits, which are included in the analysis as repricing within one year.

Following is the gap analysis as of December 31:

(dollars in thousands)

47

(dollars in thousands)

Gap analysis has limitations due to the static nature of the model, which holds volumes and consumer behaviors constant in all economic and interest rate scenarios. A lower level of rate sensitive assets to rate sensitive liabilities repricing in one year could indicate reduced net interest income in a rising interest rate scenario, and conversely, increased net interest income in a declining interest rate scenario. However, the gap analysis incorporates only the level of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities and not the sensitivity each has to changes in interest rates. The impact of the sensitivity to changes in interest rates is provided in the table below.

The following table presents an analysis of the potential sensitivity of our annual net interest income to gradual changes in interest rates over a 12-month time frame as compared with net interest income if rates remained unchanged and there are no changes in balance sheet categories.

The following table represents the potential sensitivity of our annual net interest income to immediate changes in interest rates as compared to if rates remained unchanged, assuming there are no changes in balance sheet categories.

The analysis and model used to quantify the sensitivity of our net interest income becomes less meaningful in a decreasing 200 basis point scenario given the current interest rate environment. Results of the 100 and 200 basis point interest rate decline scenario are affected by the fact that many of our interest-bearing liabilities are at rates below 1%, with an assumed floor of zero in the model. For the years 2021 and 2020, the cost of our interest-bearing liabilities averaged 0.27% and 0.58%, respectively, and the yield on our average interest-earning assets, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, averaged 3.43% and 3.72%, respectively.

During the third quarter of 2021, after considering the excess liquidity position of First Commonwealth and the banking industry, management revised its interest rate assumptions related to its ability to lag deposit rate increases for the first two 25 basis point interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The results of this assumption change, which extended the repricing of core deposits, are reflected in the December 31, 2021 results in the above sensitivity tables for gradual and immediate interest rate changes.

The ALCO is responsible for the identification and management of interest rate risk exposure. As such, the ALCO continuously evaluates strategies to manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations.

Asset/liability models require that certain assumptions be made, such as prepayment rates on earning assets and the impact of pricing on non-maturity deposits, which may differ from actual experience. These business assumptions are based upon our experience, business plans and published industry experience. While management believes such assumptions to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that modeled results will approximate actual results.

Credit Risk

First Commonwealth maintains an allowance for credit losses at a level deemed sufficient for losses inherent in the loan portfolio at the date of each statement of financial condition. Management reviews the appropriateness of the allowance on a quarterly basis to ensure that the provision for credit losses has been charged against earnings in an amount necessary to maintain the allowance at a level that is appropriate based on management’s assessment of estimated expected losses.

First Commonwealth’s methodology for assessing the appropriateness of the allowance for credit losses consists of several key elements. These elements include an assessment of individual nonperforming loans with a balance greater than $250 thousand, loss experience trends and other relevant factors.

First Commonwealth also maintains a reserve for unfunded loan commitments and letters of credit based upon credit risk and probability of funding. The reserve totaled $6.4 million at December 31, 2021 and is classified in “Other liabilities” on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition.

Nonperforming loans include nonaccrual loans and loans classified as troubled debt restructurings. Nonaccrual loans represent loans on which interest accruals have been discontinued. Troubled debt restructured loans are those loans whose terms have been renegotiated to provide a reduction or deferral of principal or interest as a result of the deteriorating financial position of the borrower, who could not obtain comparable terms from alternate financing sources. In 2021, 30 loans totaling $9.4 million were identified as troubled debt restructurings. These loans were individually analyzed and no additional reserves were required.

We discontinue interest accruals on a loan when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will be unable to fully collect principal or interest due according to the contractual terms of the loan. A loan is also placed in nonaccrual status when, based on regulatory definitions, the loan is maintained on a “cash basis” due to the weakened financial condition of the borrower. Generally, loans 90 days or more past due are placed on nonaccrual status, except for consumer loans which are placed on nonaccrual status at 150 days past due.

Nonperforming loans are closely monitored on an ongoing basis as part of our loan review and work-out process. The risk of loss on these loans is evaluated by comparing the loan balance to the estimated fair value of any underlying collateral or the present value of projected future cash flows. Losses or specifically assigned allowance for credit losses are recognized where appropriate.

The allowance for credit losses was $92.5 million at December 31, 2021 or 1.35% of loans outstanding, compared to $101.3 million or 1.50% of loans outstanding at December 31, 2020. Credit measures as of December 31, 2021 compared to December 31, 2020 reflect a decrease in the level of criticized loans of $104.7 million from $302.8 million at December 31, 2020 to $198.1 million at December 31, 2021. Commercial real estate loans accounted for $90.3 million of this decrease. Classified assets increased $1.4 million from $76.2 million at December 31, 2020 to $77.6 million at December 31, 2021. Delinquency on accruing loans decreased $1.6 million, or 14%, and the level of nonperforming loans increased $1.1 million for the same period.

The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans was 167.7% at December 31, 2021 and 187.4% as of December 31, 2020. The allowance for credit losses includes specific allocations of $0.4 million related to nonperforming loans covering 1% of the total nonperforming balance at December 31, 2021 and specific allocations of $4.9 million covering

9% of the total nonperforming balance at December 31, 2020. The amount of allowance related to nonperforming loans was determined by using estimated fair values obtained from current appraisals and updated discounted cash flow analyses.

Management believes that the allowance for credit losses is at a level that is sufficient to absorb expected losses in the loan portfolio at December 31, 2021.

The following table provides information on net charge-offs and nonperforming loans by loan category:

(dollars in thousands)

As the above table illustrates, commercial real estate and residential real estate loans were the most significant portions of the nonperforming loans as of December 31, 2021. See discussions related to the provision for credit losses and loans for more information.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, FASB released Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-04 - Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), which provides optional guidance to ease the accounting burden in accounting for, or recognizing the effects from, reference rate reform on financial reporting. The new standard is a result of the potential discontinuance of the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") as an available benchmark rate. The standard is elective and provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, or other transactions that reference LIBOR, or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. The amendments in the update are effective for all entities between March 12, 2020 and December 31, 2022. The Company has established a cross-functional working group to manage the Company’s transition from LIBOR. Products that utilize LIBOR have been identified and have incorporated enhanced language to accommodate the transition to alternative reference rates. The Company continues to evaluate the impact of adopting the new standard and at this time does not expect it to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Information appearing in Item 7 of this report under the caption “Market Risk” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report pursuant to Rule 13a-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in applicable rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, also conducted an evaluation of our internal controls over financial reporting to determine whether any changes occurred during the fourth fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting. No such changes were identified in connection with this evaluation.

Ernst & Young LLP, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (U.S. PCAOB Auditor Firm I.D.: 42), the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. The report, which expresses an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, is included at the end of Item 8 under the heading Report of "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.”

MANAGEMENT’S ASSESSMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

First Commonwealth is responsible for the preparation, the integrity, and the fair presentation of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report. The Consolidated Financial Statements and notes to the financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and include some amounts based upon management’s best estimates and judgments.

First Commonwealth’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f), that is designed to produce reliable financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including First Commonwealth’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, First Commonwealth conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations, including the possibility that a control can be circumvented and that misstatements due to error or fraud may occur without detection. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

Based on First Commonwealth’s evaluation based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), management concluded that internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021. The effectiveness of First Commonwealth’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 has been audited by Ernst & Young, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their attestation report which is included herein.

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

Indiana, Pennsylvania

February 28, 2022

118