UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC  20549

____________________

 

FORM 10-K

 

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

 

 

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(850) 402-7821

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of Each Class                                                      Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Common Stock, $0.01 par value                                                     The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes [ X ]  No  [   ]

 

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

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer [   ]                 Accelerated filer [ X ]                      Non-accelerated filer [   ]                       Smaller reporting company [   ]

 

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

 

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value per share, held by non-affiliates of the registrant on June 30, 2018, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $270,798,560 (based on the closing sales price of the registrant’s common stock on that date). Shares of the registrant’s common stock held by each officer and director and each person known to the registrant to own 10% or more of the outstanding voting power of the registrant have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not a determination for other purposes.

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of our Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareowners to be held on April 23, 2019, are incorporated by reference in Part III.

 

CAPITAL CITY BANK GROUP, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2018 ON FORM 10-K

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  

 

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, estimates and intentions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are beyond our control.  The words “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “vision,” “goal,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

 

All forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties.  Our actual future results may differ materially from those set forth in our forward-looking statements.

 

In addition to those risks discussed in this Annual Report under Item 1A Risk Factors, factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, include, without limitation:

 

·          our ability to successfully manage interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and other risks inherent to our industry;

·          legislative or regulatory changes;

·          the effects of security breaches and computer viruses that may affect our computer systems or fraud related to our debit card products;

·          the accuracy of our financial statement estimates and assumptions, including the estimates used for our loan loss reserve and deferred tax asset valuation allowance and pension plan;

·          changes in accounting principles, policies, practices or guidelines, including the effects of forthcoming CECL implementation;

·          the frequency and magnitude of foreclosure of our loans;

·          the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of geographic and industry concentrations;

·          the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations;

·          our ability to declare and pay dividends, the payment of which is subject to our capital requirements;

·          changes in the securities and real estate markets;

·          changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government;

·          inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations;

·          the effects of harsh weather conditions, including hurricanes, and man-made disasters;

·          our ability to comply with the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject, including the laws for each jurisdiction where we operate;

·          the willingness of clients to accept third-party products and services rather than our products and services and vice versa;

·          increased competition and its effect on pricing;

·          technological changes;

·          negative publicity and the impact on our reputation;

·          changes in consumer spending and saving habits;

·          growth and profitability of our noninterest income;

·          the limited trading activity of our common stock;

·          the concentration of ownership of our common stock;

·          anti-takeover provisions under federal and state law as well as our Articles of Incorporation and our Bylaws;

·          other risks described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and

·          our ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing.

 

However, other factors besides those listed in Item 1A Risk Factors or discussed in this Annual Report also could adversely affect our results, and you should not consider any such list of factors to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.  Any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf speak only as of the date they are made.  We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law.

  

 

PART I

 

Item 1.   Business

 

About Us

 

General

 

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (“CCBG”) is a financial holding company headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida. CCBG was incorporated under Florida law on December 13, 1982, to acquire five national banks and one state bank that all subsequently became part of CCBG’s bank subsidiary, Capital City Bank (“CCB” or the “Bank”). The Bank commenced operations in 1895. In this report, the terms “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” mean CCBG and all subsidiaries included in our consolidated financial statements.

We provide traditional deposit and credit services, asset management, trust, mortgage banking, merchant services, bank cards, data processing, and securities brokerage services through 59 banking offices in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama operated by CCB. The majority of our revenue, approximately 88%, is derived from our Florida market areas while approximately 11% and 1% of our revenue is derived from our Georgia and Alabama market areas, respectively.

Below is a summary of our financial condition and results of operations for the past three years.  Our financial condition and results of operations are more fully discussed in our management discussion and analysis on page 32 and our consolidated financial statements on page 64.

 

 

Dividends and management fees received from the Bank are CCBG’s primary source of income. Dividend payments by the Bank to CCBG depend on the capitalization, earnings and projected growth of the Bank, and are limited by various regulatory restrictions, including compliance with a minimum Common Equity Tier 1 Capital conservation buffer.  See the section entitled “Regulatory Matters” in this Item 1 and Note 14 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the restrictions.

  

We had a total of 819 associates at March 1, 2019.  Item 6 contains other financial and statistical information about us.

 

Subsidiaries of CCBG

                               

CCBG’s principal asset is the capital stock of CCB, our wholly owned banking subsidiary, which accounted for nearly 100% of consolidated assets at December 31, 2018, and approximately 100% of consolidated net income for the year ended December 31, 2018.  In addition to our banking subsidiary, CCB has two primary subsidiaries, which are wholly owned, Capital City Trust Company and Capital City Investments, Inc. The nature of these subsidiaries is provided below.

 

Operating Segment

 

We have one reportable segment with three principal services: Banking Services (CCB), Trust and Asset Management Services (Capital City Trust Company), and Brokerage Services (Capital City Investments, Inc.).  Revenues from each of these principal services for the year ended 2018 totaled approximately 95.6%, 3.8%, and 2.5% of our total revenue, respectively.  In 2017 and 2016, Banking Services (CCB) revenue was approximately 93.6% and 93.7% of our total revenue for each respective year. 

 

Capital City Bank

 

CCB is a Florida-chartered full-service bank engaged in the commercial and retail banking business. Significant services offered by CCB include:

 

• Business Banking – We provide banking services to corporations and other business clients. Credit products are available for a wide variety of general business purposes, including financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit. We also provide treasury management services, and, through a marketing alliance with Elavon, Inc., merchant credit card transaction processing services.

 

• Commercial Real Estate Lending – We provide a wide range of products to meet the financing needs of commercial developers and investors, residential builders and developers, and community development. Credit products are available to purchase land and build structures for business use and for investors who are developing residential or commercial property.

 

• Residential Real Estate Lending – We provide products to help meet the home financing needs of consumers, including conventional permanent and construction/ permanent (fixed, adjustable, or variable rate) financing arrangements, and FHA/VA loan products. We offer both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate residential mortgage (ARM) loans. A portion of our loans originated are sold into the secondary market. We offer these products through our existing network of banking offices. We do not originate subprime residential real estate loans.

 

• Retail Credit – We provide a full-range of loan products to meet the needs of consumers, including personal loans, automobile loans, boat/RV loans, home equity loans, and through a marketing alliance with ELAN, we offer credit card programs.

 

• Institutional Banking – We provide banking services to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership and not-for-profit associations including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans.

 

• Retail Banking – We provide a full-range of consumer banking services, including checking accounts, savings programs, automated teller machines (ITMs/ATMs), debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, online banking, and mobile banking.

 

Capital City Trust Company

 

Capital City Trust Company (the “Trust Company”). The Trust Company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts. Associations, endowments, and other nonprofit entities hire the Trust Company to manage their investment portfolios. Additionally, a staff of well-trained professionals serves individuals requiring the services of a trustee, personal representative, or a guardian. The market value of trust assets under discretionary management exceeded $760.2 million at December 31, 2018, with total assets under administration exceeding $831.2 million.

 

Capital City Investments, Inc.

 

We offer our customers access to retail investment products through LPL Financial pursuant to which retail investment products would be offered through LPL. LPL offers a full line of retail securities products, including U.S. Government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance and long-term health care. Non-deposit investment and insurance products are: (i) not FDIC insured; (ii) not deposits, obligations, or guarantees by any bank; and (iii) subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal amount invested.  We are not an affiliate of LPL Financial.

 

Underwriting Standards

One of our core goals is to support the communities in which we operate. We seek loans from within our primary market area, which is defined as the counties in which our banking offices are located.  We will also originate loans within our secondary market area, defined as counties adjacent to those in which we have banking offices.  There may also be occasions when we will have opportunities to make loans that are out of both the primary and secondary market areas, including participation loans. These loans are generally only approved if the applicant is known to us, underwriting is consistent with our criteria, and the applicant’s primary business is in or near our primary or secondary market area. Approval of all loans is subject to our policies and standards described in more detail below.

 

We have adopted comprehensive lending policies, underwriting standards and loan review procedures. Management and our Board of Directors reviews and approves these policies and procedures on a regular basis (at least annually).

 

Management has also implemented reporting systems designed to monitor loan originations, loan quality, concentrations of credit, loan delinquencies, nonperforming loans, and potential problem loans. Our management and the Credit Risk Oversight Committee periodically review our lines of business to monitor asset quality trends and the appropriateness of credit policies. In addition, total borrower exposure limits are established and concentration risk is monitored. As part of this process, the overall composition of the portfolio is reviewed to gauge diversification of risk, client concentrations, industry group, loan type, geographic area, or other relevant classifications of loans.  Specific segments of the portfolio are monitored and reported to our Board on a quarterly basis and we have strategic plans in place to supplement Board approved credit policies governing exposure limits and underwriting standards. We recognize that exceptions to the below-listed policy guidelines may occasionally occur and has established procedures for approving exceptions to these policy guidelines.

 

Residential Real Estate Loans

 

We originate 1-4 family, owner-occupied residential real estate loans in its Residential Real Estate line of business. Our policy is to underwrite these loans in accordance with secondary market guidelines in effect at the time of origination, including loan-to-value (“LTV”) and documentation requirements. We originate fixed-rate, adjustable-rate and variable- rate residential real estate loans. Over the past five years, the vast majority of residential loan originations have been fixed-rate loans which are sold in the secondary market on a non-recourse basis with related servicing rights (i.e., we generally do not service sold loans).  Adjustable rate mortgage (“ARM”) loans with an initial fixed interest rate period greater than five years are also sold in the secondary market on a non-recourse basis.

 

We also originate certain residential real estate loans throughout our banking office network that are generally not eligible for sale into the secondary market due to not meeting a specific secondary market underwriting requirement. This includes our variable rate 3/1 and 5/1 ARM loans which typically have a maximum term of 30 years and maximum LTV of 80%.

  

Residential real estate loans also include home equity lines of credit (“HELOCs”) and home equity loans. Our home equity portfolio includes revolving open-ended equity loans with interest-only or minimal monthly principal payments and closed-end amortizing loans. Open-ended equity loans typically have an interest only 10-year draw period followed by a five year repayment period of 0.75% of principal balance monthly and balloon payment at maturity.  As of December 31, 2018, approximately 66% of our residential home equity loan portfolio consisted of first mortgages.  Interest rates may be fixed or adjustable.  Adjustable-rate loans are tied to the Prime Rate with a typical margin of 1.0% or more.

  

Commercial Loans

 

Our policy sets forth guidelines for debt service coverage ratios, LTV ratios and documentation standards. Commercial loans are primarily made based on identified cash flows of the borrower with consideration given to underlying collateral and personal or other guarantees. We have established debt service coverage ratio limits that require a borrower’s cash flow to be sufficient to cover principal and interest payments on all new and existing debt. The majority of our commercial loans are secured by the assets being financed or other business assets such as accounts receivable or inventory.  Many of the loans in the commercial portfolio have variable interest rates tied to the Prime Rate or U.S. Treasury indices.

 

Commercial Real Estate Loans

 

We have adopted guidelines for debt service coverage ratios, LTV ratios and documentation standards for commercial real estate loans. These loans are primarily made based on identified cash flows of the borrower with consideration given to underlying real estate collateral and personal guarantees. Our policy establishes a maximum LTV specific to property type and minimum debt service coverage ratio limits that require a borrower’s cash flow to be sufficient to cover principal and interest payments on all new and existing debt. Commercial real estate loans may be fixed or variable-rate loans with interest rates tied to the Prime Rate or U.S. Treasury indices. We require appraisals for loans in excess of $250,000 that are secured by real property.

 

Consumer Loans

 

Our consumer loan portfolio includes personal installment loans, direct and indirect automobile financing, and overdraft lines of credit. The majority of the consumer loan portfolio consists of indirect and direct automobile loans. The majority of our consumer loans are short-term and have fixed rates of interest that are priced based on current market interest rates and the financial strength of the borrower. Our policy establishes maximum debt-to-income ratios, minimum credit scores, and includes guidelines for verification of applicants’ income and receipt of credit reports.

 

Lending Limits and Extensions of Additional Credit

 

We have established an internal lending limit of $10 million for the total aggregate amount of credit that will be extended to a client and any related entities within our Board approved policies. This compares to our legal lending limit of approximately $86  million.

 

Loan Modification and Restructuring

 

In the normal course of business, we receive requests from our clients to renew, extend, refinance, or otherwise modify their current loan obligations. In most cases, this may be the result of a balloon maturity that is common in most commercial loan agreements, a request to refinance to obtain current market rates of interest, competitive reasons, or the conversion of a construction loan to a permanent financing structure at the completion or stabilization of the property. In these cases, the request is held to the normal underwriting standards and pricing strategies as any other loan request, whether new or renewal.

 

In other cases, we may modify a loan because of a reduction in debt service capacity experienced by the client (i.e., a potentially troubled loan whereby the client may be experiencing financial difficulties). To maximize the collection of loan balances, we evaluate troubled loans on a case-by-case basis to determine if a loan modification would be appropriate. We pursue loan modifications when there is a reasonable chance that an appropriate modification would allow our client to continue servicing the debt.

 

Expansion of Business

 

Our philosophy is to build long-term client relationships based on quality service, high ethical standards, and safe and sound banking practices.  We maintain a locally oriented, community-based focus, which is augmented by experienced, centralized support in select specialized areas.  Our local market orientation is reflected in our network of banking office locations, experienced community executives with a dedicated President for each market, and community boards which support our focus on responding to local banking needs.  We strive to offer a broad array of sophisticated products and to provide quality service by empowering associates to make decisions in their local markets.

 

We have sought to build a franchise in small-to medium-sized, less competitive markets, located on the outskirts of the larger metropolitan markets where we are positioned as a market leader.  Many of our markets are on the outskirts of these larger markets in close proximity to major interstate thoroughfares such as Interstates I-10 and I-75.  Our three largest markets are Tallahassee (Leon County, Florida), Gainesville (Alachua County, Florida), and Macon (Bibb County, Georgia).  In 13 of 18 markets in Florida and two of four markets in Georgia, we rank within the top four banks in terms of market share.  Furthermore, in the counties in which we operate, we maintain a 8.30% market share in the Florida counties and 5.11% in the Georgia counties, suggesting that there is significant opportunity to grow market share within these geographic areas.  The larger employers in many of our markets are state and local governments, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and small businesses.  While we realize that the markets in our footprint do not provide for a level of potential growth that the larger metropolitan markets may provide, our markets do provide good growth dynamics and have historically grown in excess of the national average  The value of these markets stems from the fact they are stable and less competitive, secondary markets.  We strive to provide value added services to our clients by being not just their bank, but their banker.  This element of our strategy distinguishes Capital City Bank from our competitors.          

 

Our long-term vision remains to profitably expand our franchise through a combination of organic growth in existing markets and acquisitions.  We have long understood that our core deposit funding base is a predominant driver of our profitability and overall franchise value, and have focused extensively on this component of our organic growth efforts in recent years.  While we have not been an active acquirer of banks since 2005, this component of our strategy is still in place.  When evaluating potential acquisition opportunities, we will continue to weigh the value of organic growth initiatives versus potential acquisition returns and pursue the strategies that we believe provide the best overall return to our shareowners.

 

Potential acquisition opportunities will continue to be focused on Florida, Georgia, and Alabama with a particular focus on financial institutions located on the outskirts of larger, metropolitan areas.  Five markets have been identified, four in Florida and one in Georgia, in which management intends to proactively pursue expansion opportunities.  These markets include Alachua, Marion, Hernando/Pasco counties in Florida, the western panhandle of Florida, and Bibb and surrounding counties in central Georgia.  Our focus on some of these markets may change as we continue to evaluate our strategy and the economic conditions and demographics of any individual market.  We will also continue to evaluate de novo expansion opportunities in attractive new markets in the event that acquisition opportunities are not feasible.  Other expansion opportunities that will be evaluated include asset management, mortgage banking, and other financial businesses that are closely aligned with the business of banking.  Embedded in our acquisition strategy is our desire to partner with institutions that are culturally similar, have experienced management and possess either established market presence or have potential for improved profitability through growth, economies of scale, or expanded services.  Generally, these target institutions will range in asset size from $100 million to $500 million.

 

Competition

 

We operate in a highly competitive environment, especially with respect to services and pricing, that has undergone significant changes since the recent financial crisis.  Since January 1, 2009, over 500 financial institutions have failed in the U.S., including 85 in Georgia and 70 in Florida. Nearly all of the failed banks were community banks. The assets and deposits of many of these failed community banks were acquired mostly by larger financial institutions.  The banking industry has also experienced significant consolidation through mergers and acquisition, which we expect will continue during 2019.  However, we believe that the larger financial institutions acquiring banks in our market areas are less familiar with the markets in which we operate and typically target a different client base. We also believe clients who bank at community banks tend to prefer the relationship style service of community banks compared to larger banks.

 

As a result, we expect to be able to effectively compete in our markets with larger financial institutions through providing superior customer service and leveraging our knowledge and experience in providing banking products and services in our market areas. Thus, a further reduction of the number of community banks could continue to enhance our competitive position and opportunities in many of our markets. However, larger financial institutions can benefit from economies of scale, so these larger institutions may be able to offer banking products and services at more competitive price. Additionally, these larger financial institutions may offer financial products that we do not offer.

 

We may also begin to see competition from new banks that are being formed. In late 2016, the first de novo bank charter since the downturn was approved for a Florida-based bank and three additional Florida charters were approved in 2018. While the number of new bank formations has not returned to pre-downturn levels, increased de novo bank applications could signal additional competition from new community banks.

 

Our primary market area consists of 18 counties in Florida, four counties in Georgia, and one county in Alabama. In these markets, we compete against a wide range of banking and nonbanking institutions including banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, money market funds, mutual fund advisory companies, mortgage banking companies, investment banking companies, finance companies and other types of financial institutions. Most of Florida’s major banking concerns have a presence in Leon County, where our main office is located.  Our Leon County deposits totaled $983 million, or 39% of our consolidated deposits at December 31, 2018.

 

 

 

Seasonality

 

We believe our commercial banking operations are not generally seasonal in nature; however, public deposits tend to increase with tax collections in the fourth and first quarters of each year and decline as a result of governmental spending thereafter.

Regulatory Considerations

We must comply with state and federal banking laws and regulations that control virtually all aspects of our operations. These laws and regulations generally aim to protect our depositors, not necessarily our shareowners or our creditors. Any changes in applicable laws or regulations may materially affect our business and prospects. Proposed legislative or regulatory changes may also affect our operations. The following description summarizes some of the laws and regulations to which we are subject. References to applicable statutes and regulations are brief summaries, do not purport to be complete, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to such statutes and regulations.

 

Capital City Bank Group, Inc.

 

We are registered with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve as a financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. As a result, we are subject to supervisory regulation and examination by the Federal Reserve. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Bank Holding Company Act, and other federal laws subject financial holding companies to particular restrictions on the types of activities in which they may engage, and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities, including regulatory enforcement actions for violations of laws and regulations.

 

Permitted Activities

 

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act modernized the U.S. banking system by: (i) allowing bank holding companies that qualify as “financial holding companies,” such as CCBG, to engage in a broad range of financial and related activities; (ii) allowing insurers and other financial service companies to acquire banks; (iii) removing restrictions that applied to bank holding company ownership of securities firms and mutual fund advisory companies; and (iv) establishing the overall regulatory scheme applicable to bank holding companies that also engage in insurance and securities operations. The general effect of the law was to establish a comprehensive framework to permit affiliations among commercial banks, insurance companies, securities firms, and other financial service providers. Activities that are financial in nature are broadly defined to include not only banking, insurance, and securities activities, but also merchant banking and additional activities that the Federal Reserve, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, determines to be financial in nature, incidental to such financial activities, or complementary activities that do not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally.

 

In contrast to financial holding companies, bank holding companies are limited to managing or controlling banks, furnishing services to or performing services for its subsidiaries, and engaging in other activities that the Federal Reserve determines by regulation or order to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. In determining whether a particular activity is permissible, the Federal Reserve must consider whether the performance of such an activity reasonably can be expected to produce benefits to the public that outweigh possible adverse effects. Possible benefits include greater convenience, increased competition, and gains in efficiency. Possible adverse effects include undue concentration of resources, decreased or unfair competition, conflicts of interest, and unsound banking practices. Despite prior approval, the Federal Reserve may order a bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any activity or to terminate ownership or control of any subsidiary when the Federal Reserve has reasonable cause to believe that a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of any bank subsidiary of that bank holding company may result from such an activity.

 

Changes in Control

 

Subject to certain exceptions, the Bank Holding Company Act and the Change in Bank Control Act, together with the applicable regulations, require Federal Reserve approval (or, depending on the circumstances, no notice of disapproval) prior to any person or company acquiring “control” of a bank or bank holding company. A conclusive presumption of control exists if an individual or company acquires the power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of an insured depository institution or to vote 25% or more of any class of voting securities of any insured depository institution. A rebuttable presumption of control exists if a person or company acquires 10% or more but less than 25% of any class of voting securities of an insured depository institution and either the institution has registered securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which we will refer to as the Exchange Act, or no other person will own a greater percentage of that class of voting securities immediately after the acquisition. Our common stock is registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

 

The Federal Reserve Board maintains a policy statement on minority equity investments in banks and bank holding companies, that generally permits investors to (i) acquire up to 33% of the total equity of a target bank or bank holding company, subject to certain conditions, including (but not limited to) that the investing firm does not acquire 15% or more of any class of voting securities, and (ii) designate at least one director, without triggering the various regulatory requirements associated with control.

 

As a financial holding company, we are required to obtain prior approval from the Federal Reserve before (i) acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of a bank or bank holding company, (ii) acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the outstanding voting stock of any bank or bank holding company (unless we own a majority of such bank’s voting shares), or (iii) merging or consolidating with any other bank or bank holding company. In determining whether to approve a proposed bank acquisition, federal bank regulators will consider, among other factors, the effect of the acquisition on competition, the public benefits expected to be received from the acquisition, the projected capital ratios and levels on a post-acquisition basis, and the acquiring institution’s record of addressing the credit needs of the communities it serves, including the needs of low and moderate income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of the bank, under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.

 

Under Florida law, a person or entity proposing to directly or indirectly acquire control of a Florida bank must also obtain permission from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Florida statutes define “control” as either (i) indirectly or directly owning, controlling or having power to vote 25% or more of the voting securities of a bank; (ii) controlling the election of a majority of directors of a bank; (iii) owning, controlling, or having power to vote 10% or more of the voting securities as well as directly or indirectly exercising a controlling influence over management or policies of a bank; or (iv) as determined by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. These requirements will affect us because CCB is chartered under Florida law and changes in control of CCBG are indirect changes in control of CCB.

 

Tying

 

Financial holding companies and their affiliates are prohibited from tying the provision of certain services, such as extending credit, to other services or products offered by the holding company or its affiliates, such as deposit products.

 

Capital; Dividends; Source of Strength

 

The Federal Reserve imposes certain capital requirements on financial holding companies under the Bank Holding Company Act, including a minimum leverage ratio and a minimum ratio of “qualifying” capital to risk-weighted assets. These requirements are described below under “Capital Regulations.” Subject to its capital requirements and certain other restrictions, we are generally able to borrow money to make a capital contribution to CCB, and such loans may be repaid from dividends paid from CCB to us. We are also able to raise capital for contributions to CCB by issuing securities without having to receive regulatory approval, subject to compliance with federal and state securities laws.

 

In accordance with Federal Reserve policy, which has been codified by the Dodd-Frank Act, we are expected to act as a source of financial strength to CCB and to commit resources to support CCB in circumstances in which we might not otherwise do so. In furtherance of this policy, the Federal Reserve may require a financial holding company to terminate any activity or relinquish control of a nonbank subsidiary (other than a nonbank subsidiary of a bank) upon the Federal Reserve’s determination that such activity or control constitutes a serious risk to the financial soundness or stability of any subsidiary depository institution of the financial holding company. Further, federal bank regulatory authorities have additional discretion to require a financial holding company to divest itself of any bank or nonbank subsidiary if the agency determines that divestiture may aid the depository institution’s financial condition.

 

Capital City Bank

 

Capital City Bank is a state-chartered commercial banking institution that is chartered by and headquartered in the State of Florida, and is subject to supervision and regulation by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation supervises and regulates all areas of our operations including, without limitation, the making of loans, the issuance of securities, the conduct of our corporate affairs, the satisfaction of capital adequacy requirements, the payment of dividends, and the establishment or closing of banking centers. We are also a member bank of the Federal Reserve System, which makes our operations subject to broad federal regulation and oversight by the Federal Reserve. In addition, our deposit accounts are insured by the FDIC up to the maximum extent permitted by law, and the FDIC has certain enforcement powers over us.

 

As a state-chartered bank in the State of Florida, we are empowered by statute, subject to the limitations contained in those statutes, to take and pay interest on, savings and time deposits, to accept demand deposits, to make loans on residential and other real estate, to make consumer and commercial loans, to invest, with certain limitations, in equity securities and in debt obligations of banks and corporations and to provide various other banking services for the benefit of our clients. Various consumer laws and regulations also affect our operations, including state usury laws, laws relating to fiduciaries, consumer credit and equal credit opportunity laws, and fair credit reporting. In addition, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”) prohibits insured state chartered institutions from conducting activities as principal that are not permitted for national banks. A bank, however, may engage in an otherwise prohibited activity if it meets its minimum capital requirements and the FDIC determines that the activity does not present a significant risk to the Deposit Insurance Fund.

 

Reserves

 

The Federal Reserve requires all depository institutions to maintain reserves against transaction accounts (noninterest bearing and NOW checking accounts). The balances maintained to meet the reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve may be used to satisfy liquidity requirements. An institution may borrow from the Federal Reserve Bank “discount window” as a secondary source of funds, provided that the institution meets the Federal Reserve Bank’s credit standards.

 

Dividends

 

CCB is subject to legal limitations on the frequency and amount of dividends that can be paid to CCBG. The Federal Reserve may restrict the ability of CCB to pay dividends if such payments would constitute an unsafe or unsound banking practice. Additionally, as of January 1, 2019, financial institutions are being required to maintain a capital conservation buffer of at least 2.5% of risk-weighted assets in order to avoid restrictions on capital distributions and other payments. If a financial institution’s capital conservation buffer falls below the minimum requirement, its maximum payout amount for capital distributions and discretionary payments declines to a set percentage of eligible retained income based on the size of the buffer. See “Capital Regulations,” below for additional details on this new capital requirement.

 

In addition, Florida law and Federal regulation also places restrictions on the declaration of dividends from state chartered banks to their holding companies. Pursuant to the Florida Financial Institutions Code, the board of directors of state-chartered banks, after charging off bad debts, depreciation and other worthless assets, if any, and making provisions for reasonably anticipated future losses on loans and other assets, may quarterly, semi-annually or annually declare a dividend of up to the aggregate net profits of that period combined with the bank’s retained net profits for the preceding two years and, with the approval of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and Federal Reserve, declare a dividend from retained net profits which accrued prior to the preceding two years. Before declaring such dividends, 20% of the net profits for the preceding period as is covered by the dividend must be transferred to the surplus fund of the bank until this fund becomes equal to the amount of the bank’s common stock then issued and outstanding. A state-chartered bank may not declare any dividend if (i) its net income (loss) from the current year combined with the retained net income (loss) for the preceding two years aggregates a loss or (ii) the payment of such dividend would cause the capital account of the bank to fall below the minimum amount required by law, regulation, order or any written agreement with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation or a federal regulatory agency.

 

Insurance of Accounts and Other Assessments

 

Our deposit accounts are currently insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund generally up to a maximum of $250,000 per separately insured depositor. We pay deposit insurance assessments to the Deposit Insurance Fund, which are determined through a risk-based assessment system.

 

Under the current system, deposit insurance assessments are based on a bank’s assessment base, which is defined as average total assets minus average tangible equity.  The FDIC assigns an institution to one of two categories based on asset size.  We fall into the Established Small Institution category.  This category has three sub categories based on supervisory ratings (its “CAMELS ratings”) designed to measure risk.  In determining the applicable assessment rate, the initial base assessment is determined based on the risk-based sub category into which the bank falls. The applicable sub category is determined based on the institution’s most recent supervisory and capital evaluations. The total base assessment rate is then determined by adjusting the initial base assessment rate by an unsecured debt adjustment and brokered deposit adjustment, if applicable, and the deposit insurance assessment is calculated by multiplying the bank’s assessment base by the total base assessment rate.

 

In addition, all FDIC-insured institutions are required to pay assessments to the FDIC to fund interest payments on bonds issued by the Financing Corporation, an agency of the federal government established to recapitalize the predecessor to the Savings Association Insurance Fund. The Financing Corporation assessment rate is adjusted quarterly (currently less than 1 basis points for the first quarter of 2019) to reflect changes in the assessment base as determined from the quarterly Call Report submissions. These assessments will continue until the Financing Corporation bonds mature in 2019.

 

Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, or FDIA, 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.

 

Transactions With Affiliates

 

Pursuant to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W, the authority of CCB to engage in transactions with related parties or “affiliates” or to make loans to insiders is limited. Loan transactions with an affiliate generally must be collateralized and certain transactions between CCB and its affiliates, including the sale of assets, the payment of money or the provision of services, must be on terms and conditions that are substantially the same, or at least as favorable to CCB, as those prevailing for comparable nonaffiliated transactions. In addition, CCB generally may not purchase securities issued or underwritten by affiliates.

 

Loans to executive officers, directors or to any person who directly or indirectly, or acting through or in concert with one or more persons, owns, controls or has the power to vote more than 10% of any class of voting securities of a bank, which we refer to as “10% Shareowners,” or to any political or campaign committee the funds or services of which will benefit those executive officers, directors, or 10% Shareowners or which is controlled by those executive officers, directors or 10% Shareowners, are subject to Sections 22(g) and 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act and their corresponding regulations (Regulation O) and Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act relating to the prohibition on personal loans to executives (which exempts financial institutions in compliance with the insider lending restrictions of Section 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act). Among other things, these loans must be made on terms substantially the same as those prevailing on transactions made to unaffiliated individuals and certain extensions of credit to those persons must first be approved in advance by a disinterested majority of the entire board of directors. Section 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act prohibits loans to any of those individuals where the aggregate amount exceeds 15% of an institution’s unimpaired capital and surplus plus an additional 10% of unimpaired capital and surplus in the case of loans that are fully secured by readily marketable collateral, or when the aggregate amount on all of the extensions of credit outstanding to all of these persons would exceed our unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus. Section 22(g) identifies limited circumstances in which we are permitted to extend credit to executive officers.

 

Community Reinvestment Act

 

The Community Reinvestment Act and its corresponding regulations are intended to encourage banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they serve, including low and moderate income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound banking practices. These regulations provide for regulatory assessment of a bank’s record in meeting the credit needs of its market area. Federal banking agencies are required to publicly disclose each bank’s rating under the Community Reinvestment Act. The Federal Reserve considers a bank’s Community Reinvestment Act rating when the bank submits an application to establish bank branches, merge with another bank, or acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of another bank. In the case of a financial holding company, the Community Reinvestment Act performance record of all banks involved in a merger or acquisition are reviewed in connection with the application to acquire ownership or control of shares or assets of a bank or to merge with another bank or bank holding company. An unsatisfactory record can substantially delay or block the transaction. We received a satisfactory rating on our most recent Community Reinvestment Act assessment.

 

Capital Regulations

 

The federal banking regulators have adopted risk-based, capital adequacy guidelines for financial holding companies and their subsidiary banks based on the Basel III standards, which became effective January 1, 2015 for community banks. Under these guidelines, assets and off-balance sheet items are assigned to specific risk categories each with designated risk weightings. The new risk-based capital guidelines are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles of banks and bank holding companies, to account for off-balance sheet exposure, to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets, and to achieve greater consistency in evaluating the capital adequacy of major banks throughout the world. The resulting capital ratios include ratios that represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance sheet items.

 

In computing total risk-weighted assets, bank and bank holding company assets are assigned risk-weights of 0%, 20%, 50%, 100% and 150%. In addition, certain off-balance sheet items are assigned credit conversion factors to convert them to asset equivalent amounts to which an appropriate risk-weight applied. Most loans are assigned to the 100% risk category, except for performing first mortgage loans fully secured by 1- to 4-family and certain multi-family residential property, which carry a 50% risk rating. Most investment securities (including, general obligation claims on states or other political subdivisions of the United States) are assigned to the 20% category, except for municipal or state revenue bonds, which have a 50% risk-weight, and direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury or obligations backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, which have a 0% risk-weight. In covering off-balance sheet items, direct credit substitutes, including general guarantees and standby letters of credit backing financial obligations, are assigned a 100% conversion factor. Transaction-related contingencies such as bid bonds, standby letters of credit backing nonfinancial obligations, and undrawn commitments (including commercial credit lines with an initial maturity of more than one year) have a 50% conversion factor. Short-term commercial letters of credit are converted at 20% and certain short-term unconditionally cancelable commitments have a 0% factor.

 

Under the final rules, minimum requirements increased for both the quality and quantity of capital held by banking organizations. In this respect, the final rules implement strict eligibility criteria for regulatory capital instruments and improved the methodology for calculating risk-weighted assets to enhance risk sensitivity. Consistent with the international Basel III framework, the rules include a new minimum ratio of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets of 4.5% and a Common Equity Tier 1 Capital conservation buffer of 2.5% of risk-weighted assets. The rules also raise the minimum ratio of Tier 1 Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets from 4% to 6% and include a minimum leverage ratio of 4% for all banking organizations. The implementation of the capital conservation buffer began on January 1, 2016 at the 0.625% level and increased by 0.625% each of the next three years until January 1, 2019, when the full 2.5% capital conversion buffer was fully phased in. If a financial institution’s capital conservation buffer falls below the minimum, capital distributions and discretionary payments could be limited or prohibited.  The types of payments subject to this limitation include dividends, share buybacks, discretionary payments on Tier 1 instruments, and discretionary bonus payments.

 

The new capital regulations also impacted the treatment of accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) for regulatory capital purposes. Under the new rules, AOCI generally flows through to regulatory capital, however, community banks and their holding companies were permitted to make a one-time irrevocable opt-out election to continue to treat AOCI the same as under the old regulations for regulatory capital purposes.  We elected to opt-out in 2015.  Additionally, community banks with less than $15 billion in total assets could continue to count certain non-qualifying capital instruments issued prior to May 19, 2010 as Tier 1 capital, including trust preferred securities and cumulative perpetual preferred stock (subject to a limit of 25% of Tier 1 capital). However, non-qualifying capital instruments issued on or after May 19, 2010 do not qualify for Tier 1 capital treatment.

 

Federal law and regulations also establish a capital-based regulatory scheme designed to promote early intervention for troubled banks and require the FDIC to choose the least expensive resolution of bank failures. The capital-based regulatory framework contains five categories of compliance with regulatory capital requirements, including “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized,” and “critically undercapitalized.” To qualify as a “well-capitalized” institution, a bank must have a leverage ratio of not less than 5%, a Tier 1 Common Equity ratio of not less than 6.5%, a Tier 1 Capital ratio of not less than 8%, a total risk-based capital ratio of not less than 10%, and the bank must not be under any order or directive from the appropriate regulatory agency to meet and maintain a specific capital level.

 

A bank regulatory agency can treat an institution as if it were in the next lower category if the agency determines that the institution is operating in an unsafe or unsound condition or is engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice. The degree of regulatory scrutiny of a financial institution will increase, and the permissible activities of the institution will decrease, as it moves downward through the capital categories. Institutions that fall into one of the three undercapitalized categories may be required to (i) submit a capital restoration plan; (ii) raise additional capital; (iii) restrict their growth, deposit interest rates, and other activities; (iv) improve their management; (v) eliminate management fees; or (vi) divest all or a part of their operations. It should be noted that the minimum ratios referred to above are merely guidelines and the bank regulators may require higher capital ratios at their discretion.

 

At December 31, 2018, we exceeded the requirements to be classified as “well capitalized” and are unaware of any material violation or alleged violation of these regulations, policies or directives (see table below). Rapid growth, poor loan portfolio performance, or poor earnings performance, or a combination of these factors, could change our capital position in a relatively short period of time, making additional capital infusions necessary.  The capital ratios can be found in Note 14 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Prompt Corrective Action

Immediately upon becoming undercapitalized, a depository institution becomes subject to the provisions of Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which: (i) restrict payment of capital distributions and management fees; (ii) require that the appropriate federal banking agency monitor the condition of the institution and its efforts to restore its capital; (iii) require submission of a capital restoration plan; (iv) restrict the growth of the institution’s assets; and (v) require prior approval of certain expansion proposals. The appropriate federal banking agency for an undercapitalized institution also may take any number of discretionary supervisory actions if the agency determines that any of these actions is necessary to resolve the problems of the institution at the least possible long-term cost to the deposit insurance fund, subject in certain cases to specified procedures. These discretionary supervisory actions include: (i) requiring the institution to raise additional capital; (ii) restricting transactions with affiliates; (iii) requiring divestiture of the institution or the sale of the institution to a willing purchaser; and (iv) any other supervisory action that the agency deems appropriate. These and additional mandatory and permissive supervisory actions may be taken with respect to significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized institutions.

 

Interstate Banking and Branching

 

The Bank Holding Company Act permits adequately capitalized and managed financial and bank holding companies to acquire banks in any state and state laws prohibiting interstate banking or discriminating against out-of-state banks are generally preempted. However, states are permitted to adopt a minimum age restriction requiring that target banks located within the state be in existence for a period of time, up to a maximum of five years, before a bank may be acquired by an out-of-state bank holding company. Also, the Dodd-Frank Act, added deposit caps, which prohibit acquisitions that would result in the acquiring company controlling 30% or more of the deposits of insured banks and thrift institutions held in the state in which the target maintains a branch or 10% or more of the deposits nationwide. States have the authority to waive the 30% deposit cap. State-level deposit caps are not preempted as long as they do not discriminate against out-of-state institutions, and the federal deposit caps apply only to initial entry acquisitions.

 

As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, national banks and state banks are able to establish branches in any state if that state would permit the establishment of the branch by a state bank chartered in that state. Florida law permits a state bank to establish a branch of the bank anywhere in the state. Accordingly, a bank with its headquarters outside the State of Florida may establish branches anywhere within the state.

 

Anti-money Laundering

 

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA PATRIOT Act”), provides the federal government with additional powers to address terrorist threats through enhanced domestic security measures, expanded surveillance powers, increased information sharing and broadened anti-money laundering requirements. By way of amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), the USA PATRIOT Act puts in place measures intended to encourage information sharing among bank regulatory and law enforcement agencies. In addition, certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act impose affirmative obligations on a broad range of financial institutions.

 

The USA PATRIOT Act and the related Federal Reserve regulations require banks to establish anti-money laundering programs that include, at a minimum:

 

·          internal policies, procedures and controls designed to implement and maintain the savings association’s compliance with all of the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act, the BSA and related laws and regulations;

·          systems and procedures for monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions and activities;

·          a designated compliance officer;

·          employee training;

·          an independent audit function to test the anti-money laundering program;

·          procedures to verify the identity of each client upon the opening of accounts; and

·          heightened due diligence policies, procedures and controls applicable to certain foreign accounts and relationships.

 

Additionally, the USA PATRIOT Act requires each financial institution to develop a customer identification program (“CIP”) as part of its anti-money laundering program. The key components of the CIP are identification, verification, government list comparison, notice and record retention. The purpose of the CIP is to enable the financial institution to determine the true identity and anticipated account activity of each customer. To make this determination, among other things, the financial institution must collect certain information from customers at the time they enter into the customer relationship with the financial institution. This information must be verified within a reasonable time through documentary and non-documentary methods. Furthermore, all customers must be screened against any CIP-related government lists of known or suspected terrorists. On May 11, 2018, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a final rule under the BSA requiring banks to identify and verify the identity of the natural persons behind their customers that are legal entities – the beneficial owners.  We and our affiliates have adopted policies, procedures and controls designed to comply with the BSA and the USA PATRIOT Act.

 

Regulatory Enforcement Authority

 

Federal and state banking laws grant substantial regulatory authority and enforcement powers to federal and state banking regulators. This authority permits bank regulatory agencies to assess civil money penalties, to issue cease and desist or removal orders, and to initiate injunctive actions against banking organizations and institution-affiliated parties. In general, these enforcement actions may be initiated for either violations of laws or regulations or for unsafe or unsound practices. Other actions or inactions may provide the basis for enforcement action, including misleading or untimely reports filed with regulatory authorities.

 

Federal Home Loan Bank System

 

CCB is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, which is one of 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks. Each FHLB serves as a quasi-reserve bank for its members within its assigned region. It is funded primarily from funds deposited by member institutions and proceeds from the sale of consolidated obligations of the FHLB system. A FHLB makes loans to members (i.e., advances) in accordance with policies and procedures established by the board of trustees of the FHLB.

 

As a member of the FHLB of Atlanta, CCB is required to own capital stock in the FHLB in an amount at least equal to 0.09% (or 9 basis points), which is subject to annual adjustments, of CCB’s total assets at the end of each calendar year (up to a maximum of $15 million), plus 4.25% of its outstanding advances (borrowings) from the FHLB of Atlanta under the activity-based stock ownership requirement. As of December 31, 2018, CCB was in compliance with this requirement.

 

Privacy

 

Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, federal banking regulators adopted rules limiting the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose nonpublic information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties. The rules require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to nonaffiliated third parties.

 

Overdraft Fee Regulation

 

The Electronic Fund Transfer Act prohibits financial institutions from charging consumers fees for paying overdrafts on automated teller machines (“ATM”) and one-time debit card transactions, unless a consumer consents, or opts in, to the overdraft service for those type of transactions.  If a consumer does not opt in, any ATM transaction or debit that overdraws the consumer’s account will be denied.  Overdrafts on the payment of checks and regular electronic bill payments are not covered by this new rule.  Before opting in, the consumer must be provided a notice that explains the financial institution’s overdraft services, including the fees associated with the service, and the consumer’s choices.  Financial institutions must provide consumers who do not opt in with the same account terms, conditions and features (including pricing) that they provide to consumers who do opt in.

 

Consumer Laws and Regulations

 

CCB is also subject to other federal and state consumer laws and regulations that are designed to protect consumers in transactions with banks. While the list set forth below is not exhaustive, these laws and regulations include the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, among others. These laws and regulations mandate certain disclosure requirements and regulate the manner in which financial institutions must deal with customers when taking deposits or making loans to such customers. CCB must comply with the applicable provisions of these consumer protection laws and regulations as part of its ongoing customer relations.

 

In addition, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issues regulations and standards under these federal consumer protection laws that affect our consumer businesses. These include regulations setting “ability to repay” standards for residential mortgage loans and mortgage loan servicing and originator compensation standards, which generally require creditors to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer’s ability to repay any consumer credit transaction secured by a dwelling (excluding an open-end credit plan, timeshare plan, reverse mortgage, or temporary loan) and establishes certain protections from liability under this requirement for loans that meet the requirements of the “qualified mortgage” safe harbor. Also, in 2015, the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (“TRID”) rules for mortgage closings took effect for new loan applications. The new TRID rules were further amended in 2017. These new rules, including the new required loan forms, have generally increased the time it takes to approve mortgage loans.

 

Future Legislative Developments

 

Various legislative acts are from time to time introduced in Congress and the Florida legislature. This legislation may change banking statutes and the environment in which our banking subsidiary and we operate in substantial and unpredictable ways. We cannot determine the ultimate effect that potential legislation, if enacted, or implementing regulations with respect thereto, would have upon our financial condition or results of operations or that of our banking subsidiary.

 

Current Expected Credit Loss Accounting Standard

 

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued a new current expected credit loss rule (“CECL”) which will require banks to record, at the time of origination, credit losses expected throughout the life of the asset portfolio on loans and held-to-maturity securities, compared to the current practice of recording losses when it is probable that a loss event has occurred. The update also amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and financial assets purchased with credit deterioration. The accounting standard change will be effective for us beginning on January 1, 2020. The change in accounting standards could result in an increase in our reserve for loan losses and will require us to book loan losses sooner than under the current requirements. We are taking the necessary steps to be in compliance with the CECL accounting standard which we expect will become a critical accounting policy.

 

Effect of Governmental Monetary Policies

 

The commercial banking business is affected not only by general economic conditions, but also by the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve. Changes in the discount rate on member bank borrowing, availability of borrowing at the “discount window,” open market operations, changes in the Fed Funds target interest rate, changes in interest rates payable on member banks’ reserve accounts, the imposition of changes in reserve requirements against member banks’ deposits and assets of foreign banking centers and the imposition of and changes in reserve requirements against certain borrowings by banks and their affiliates are some of the instruments of monetary policy available to the Federal Reserve. These monetary policies are used in varying combinations to influence overall growth and distributions of bank loans, investments and deposits, which may affect interest rates charged on loans or paid on deposits. The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve have had a significant effect on the operating results of commercial banks and are expected to continue to do so in the future. The Federal Reserve’s policies are primarily influenced by its dual mandate of price stability and full employment, and to a lesser degree by short-term and long-term changes in the international trade balance and in the fiscal policies of the U.S. Government. Future changes in monetary policy and the effect of such changes on our business and earnings in the future cannot be predicted.

 

Income Taxes

 

We are subject to income taxes at the federal level and subject to state taxation based on the laws of each state in which we operate.  We file a consolidated federal tax return with a fiscal year ending on December 31. On December 22, 2017, the United States enacted tax reform legislation known as the H.R.1, commonly referred to as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” resulting in significant modifications to existing law. We completed the accounting for the effects of the new law during this period. Our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017, reflected certain effects of the new law, which included a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, as well as other changes. As a result of the changes to tax laws and tax rates under the Act, we incurred an increase in income tax expense during the year ended December 31, 2017, due to a write-down of our net deferred tax asset by $4.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 as a result of the reduction to the federal corporate income tax rate. While the new tax law negatively impacted earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017, the lower corporate tax rate is expected to be a significant ongoing benefit to us in future periods. Absent future discrete events, we anticipate that our effective tax in future periods will be approximately 24% due to a lower federal corporate income tax rate.

 

Website Access to Company’s Reports

 

Our Internet website is www.ccbg.com.  Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d), and reports filed pursuant to Section 16, 13(d), and 13(g) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this report.

 

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

 

An investment in our common stock contains a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the following risk factors before deciding whether to invest in our common stock. Our business, including our operating results and financial condition, could be harmed by any of these risks. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially and adversely affect our business. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. In assessing these risks, you should also refer to the other information contained in our filings with the SEC, including our financial statements and related notes.

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

We may incur losses if we are unable to successfully manage interest rate risk.

 

Our profitability depends to a large extent on Capital City Bank’s net interest income, which is the difference between income on interest-earning assets, such as loans and investment securities, and expense on interest-bearing liabilities such as deposits and borrowings. We are unable to predict changes in market interest rates, which are affected by many factors beyond our control, including inflation, recession, unemployment, federal funds target rate, money supply, domestic and international events and changes in the United States and other financial markets. Our net interest income may be reduced if: (i) more interest-earning assets than interest-bearing liabilities reprice or mature during a time when interest rates are declining or (ii) more interest-bearing liabilities than interest-earning assets reprice or mature during a time when interest rates are rising.

 

Changes in the difference between short-term and long-term interest rates may also harm our business. We generally use short-term deposits to fund longer-term assets. When interest rates change, assets and liabilities with shorter terms reprice more quickly than those with longer terms, which could have a material adverse effect on our net interest margin. If market interest rates rise rapidly, interest rate adjustment caps may also limit increases in the interest rates on adjustable rate loans, which could further reduce our net interest income. Additionally, we believe that due to the recent historical low interest rate environment, the effects of the repeal of Regulation Q, which previously had prohibited the payment of interest on demand deposits by member banks of the Federal Reserve System, has not been realized. The increased price competition for deposits that may result upon the return to a historically normal interest rate environment could adversely affect net interest margins of community banks.

 

Although we continuously monitor interest rates and have a number of tools to manage our interest rate risk exposure, changes in market assumptions regarding future interest rates could significantly impact our interest rate risk strategy, our financial position and results of operations. If we do not properly monitor our interest rate risk management strategies, these activities may not effectively mitigate our interest rate sensitivity or have the desired impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

 

Our loan portfolio includes loans with a higher risk of loss which could lead to higher loan losses and nonperforming assets.

 

We originate commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction loans, vacant land loans, consumer loans, and residential mortgage loans primarily within our market area. Commercial real estate, commercial, construction, vacant land, and consumer loans may expose a lender to greater credit risk than traditional fixed-rate fully amortizing loans secured by single-family residential real estate because the collateral securing these loans may not be sold as easily as single-family residential real estate. In addition, these loan types tend to involve larger loan balances to a single borrower or groups of related borrowers and are more susceptible to a risk of loss during a downturn in the business cycle. These loans also have historically had greater credit risk than other loans for the following reasons:

 

• Commercial Real Estate Loans. Repayment is dependent on income being generated in amounts sufficient to cover operating expenses and debt service. These loans also involve greater risk because they are generally not fully amortizing over the loan period, but rather have a balloon payment due at maturity. A borrower’s ability to make a balloon payment typically will depend on the borrower’s ability to either refinance the loan or timely sell the underlying property. At December 31, 2018, commercial mortgage loans comprised approximately 33.8% of our total loan portfolio.

 

• Commercial Loans. Repayment is generally dependent upon the successful operation of the borrower’s business. In addition, the collateral securing the loans may depreciate over time, be difficult to appraise, be illiquid, or fluctuate in value based on the success of the business. At December 31, 2018, commercial loans comprised approximately 13.1% of our total loan portfolio.

 

• Construction Loans. The risk of loss is largely dependent on our initial estimate of whether the property’s value at completion equals or exceeds the cost of property construction and the availability of take-out financing. During the construction phase, a number of factors can result in delays or cost overruns. If our estimate is inaccurate or if actual construction costs exceed estimates, the value of the property securing our loan may be insufficient to ensure full repayment when completed through a permanent loan, sale of the property, or by seizure of collateral. At December 31, 2018, construction loans comprised approximately 5.0% of our total loan portfolio.

 

• Vacant Land Loans. Because vacant or unimproved land is generally held by the borrower for investment purposes or future use, payments on loans secured by vacant or unimproved land will typically rank lower in priority to the borrower than a loan the borrower may have on their primary residence or business. These loans are susceptible to adverse conditions in the real estate market and local economy. At December 31, 2018, vacant land loans comprised approximately 2.86% of our total loan portfolio.

 

• HELOCs. Our open-ended home equity loans have an interest-only draw period followed by a five-year repayment period of 0.75% of the principal balance monthly and a balloon payment at maturity. Upon the commencement of the repayment period, the monthly payment can increase significantly, thus, there is a heightened risk that the borrower will be unable to pay the increased payment. Further, these loans also involve greater risk because they are generally not fully amortizing over the loan period, but rather have a balloon payment due at maturity.  A borrower’s ability to make a balloon payment may depend on the borrower’s ability to either refinance the loan or timely sell the underlying property.  At December 31, 2018, HELOCs comprised approximately 11.8% of our total loan portfolio.

 

• Consumer Loans. Consumer loans (such as automobile loans and personal lines of credit) are collateralized, if at all, with assets that may not provide an adequate source of payment of the loan due to depreciation, damage, or loss. At December 31, 2018, consumer loans comprised approximately 16.7% of our total loan portfolio, with indirect auto loans making up a majority of this portfolio at approximately 89% of the total balance.

 

The increased risks associated with these types of loans result in a correspondingly higher probability of default on such loans (as compared to fixed-rate fully amortizing single-family real estate loans). Loan defaults would likely increase our loan losses and nonperforming assets and could adversely affect our allowance for loan losses and our results of operations.

 

We process, maintain, and transmit confidential client information through our information technology systems, such as our online banking service.  Cybersecurity issues, such as security breaches and computer viruses, affecting our information technology systems or fraud related to our debit card products could disrupt our business, result in the unintended disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, damage our reputation, increase our costs, and cause losses.

 

We collect and store sensitive data, including our proprietary business information and that of our clients, and personally identifiable information of our clients and employees, in our information technology systems.  We also provide our clients the ability to bank online.  The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information is critical to our operations.  Our network, or those of our clients, could be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes and other security problems.  Financial institutions and companies engaged in data processing have increasingly reported breaches in the security of their websites or other systems, some of which have involved sophisticated and targeted attacks intended to obtain unauthorized access to confidential information, destroy data, disrupt or degrade service, sabotage systems or cause other damage.

 

We may be required to spend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches and computer viruses or to alleviate problems caused by security breaches or viruses. Security breaches and viruses could expose us to claims, litigation and other possible liabilities. Any inability to prevent security breaches or computer viruses could also cause existing clients to lose confidence in our systems and could adversely affect our reputation and our ability to generate deposits.

 

Additionally, fraud losses related to debit and credit cards have risen in recent years due in large part to growing and evolving schemes to illegally use cards or steal consumer credit card information despite risk management practices employed by the debit and credit card industries. Many issuers of debit and credit cards have suffered significant losses in recent years due to the theft of cardholder data that has been illegally exploited for personal gain.

 

The potential for debit and credit card fraud against us or our clients and our third party service providers is a serious issue. Debit and credit card fraud is pervasive and the risks of cybercrime are complex and continue to evolve. In view of the recent high-profile retail data breaches involving client personal and financial information, the potential impact on us and any exposure to consumer losses and the cost of technology investments to improve security could cause losses to us or our clients, damage to our brand, and an increase in our costs.

 

An inadequate allowance for loan losses would reduce our earnings.

 

We are exposed to the risk that our clients may be unable to repay their loans according to their terms and that any collateral securing the payment of their loans may not be sufficient to assure full repayment. This could result in credit losses that are inherent in the lending business. We evaluate the collectability of our loan portfolio and provide an allowance for loan losses that we believe is adequate based upon such factors as:

 

·          the risk characteristics of various classifications of loans;

·          previous loan loss experience;

·          specific loans that have loss potential;

·          delinquency trends;

·          estimated fair market value of the collateral;

·          current economic conditions; and

·          geographic and industry loan concentrations.

 

As of December 31, 2018, our allowance for loan losses was $14.2 million, which represented approximately 0.80% of our total loans. We had $6.9 million in nonaccruing loans as of December 31, 2018. The allowance is based on management’s reasonable estimate and may not prove sufficient to cover future loan losses. Although management uses the best information available to make determinations with respect to the allowance for loan losses, future adjustments may be necessary if economic conditions differ substantially from the assumptions used or adverse developments arise with respect to our nonperforming or performing loans. In addition, regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review our estimated losses on loans. Our regulators may require us to recognize additional losses based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of their examination. Accordingly, the allowance for loan losses may not be adequate to cover all future loan losses and significant increases to the allowance may be required in the future if, for example, economic conditions worsen. A material increase in our allowance for loan losses would adversely impact our net income and capital in future periods, while having the effect of overstating our current period earnings.

 

A new accounting standard will likely require us to increase our allowance for loan losses and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The FASB has adopted a new accounting standard that will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. This standard, referred to as Current Expected Credit Loss, or CECL, will require financial institutions to determine periodic estimates of lifetime expected credit losses on loans, and recognize the expected credit losses as allowances for loan losses. CECL will also require us to record credit losses expected throughout the life of other assets in our portfolio, including held-to-maturity securities, as opposed the current practice of recording losses when it is probable that a loss event has occurred. The update also amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and financial assets purchased with credit deterioration.  This will change the current method of providing allowances for loan losses that are probable, which would likely require us to increase our allowance for loan losses, and to greatly increase the types of data we would need to collect and review to determine the appropriate level of the allowance for loan losses. Any increase in our allowance for loan losses or expenses incurred to determine the appropriate level of the allowance for loan losses could reduce our net income and equity and, as a result, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

We may incur significant costs associated with the ownership of real property as a result of foreclosures, which could reduce our net income.

 

Since we originate loans secured by real estate, we may have to foreclose on the collateral property to protect our investment and may thereafter own and operate such property, in which case we would be exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of real estate.

 

The amount that we, as a mortgagee, may realize after a foreclosure is dependent upon factors outside of our control, including, but not limited to:

 

• general or local economic conditions;
• environmental cleanup liability;
• neighborhood values;
• interest rates;
• real estate tax rates;
• operating expenses of the mortgaged properties;
• supply of and demand for rental units or properties;
• ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties;
• zoning laws;
• governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; and
• acts of God.

 

Certain expenditures associated with the ownership of real estate, including real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance costs, may adversely affect the income from the real estate. Furthermore, we may need to advance funds to continue to operate or to protect these assets. As a result, the cost of operating real property assets may exceed the rental income earned from such properties or we may be required to dispose of the real property at a loss.

 

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our financial condition.

 

Effective liquidity management is essential for the operation of our business. We require sufficient liquidity to meet client loan requests, client deposit maturities and withdrawals, payments on our debt obligations as they come due and other cash commitments under both normal operating conditions and other unpredictable circumstances causing industry or general financial market stress. If we are unable to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, earnings and other sources, it could have a substantial negative effect on our liquidity.  In particular, a majority of our liabilities during 2018 were checking accounts and other liquid deposits, which are generally payable on demand or upon short notice. By comparison, a substantial majority of our assets were loans, which cannot generally be called or sold in the same time frame. Although we have historically been able to replace maturing deposits and advances as necessary, we might not be able to replace such funds in the future, especially if a large number of our depositors seek to withdraw their accounts at the same time, regardless of the reason. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy in general. Factors that could negatively impact our access to liquidity sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of a downturn in the markets in which our loans are concentrated, adverse regulatory action against us, or our inability to attract and retain deposits. Our ability to borrow could also be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a disruption in the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry. If we are unable to maintain adequate liquidity, it could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

 

European Union’s General Data Privacy Regulation

 

In May 2018, the European Union (“EU“) adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR“). The GDPR is focused on the protection of the data and the privacy of individuals within the EU and the European Economic Area. The GDPR extends the scope of EU privacy rules to include organizations outside the EU if they offer goods or services to or monitor behaviors of EU citizens. The penalties and sanctions for noncompliance with the GDPR are difficult to predict and potentially very high. While we believe that the GDPR will have little impact on us, we may be impacted by similar privacy laws that may be adopted by other federal, state, or local governing bodies in the future.

 

Our future success is dependent on our ability to compete effectively in the highly competitive banking industry.

 

We face vigorous competition for deposits, loans and other financial services in our market area from other banks and financial institutions, including savings and loan associations, savings banks, finance companies and credit unions. A number of our competitors are significantly larger than we are and have greater access to capital and other resources. Many of our competitors also have higher lending limits, more expansive branch networks, and offer a wider array of financial products and services. To a lesser extent, we also compete with other providers of financial services, such as money market mutual funds, brokerage firms, consumer finance companies, insurance companies and governmental organizations, which may offer financial products and services on more favorable terms than we are able to. Many of our non-bank competitors are not subject to the same extensive regulations that govern our activities. As a result, these non-bank competitors have advantages over us in providing certain services. The effect of this competition may reduce or limit our margins or our market share and may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Risks Related to Regulation and Legislation

We are subject to extensive regulation, which could restrict our activities and impose financial requirements or limitations on the conduct of our business.

 

We are subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by our regulators, including the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC. Our compliance with these industry regulations is costly and restricts certain of our activities, including payment of dividends, mergers and acquisitions, investments, lending and interest rates charged on loans, interest rates paid on deposits, access to capital and brokered deposits and locations of banking offices. If we are unable to meet these regulatory requirements, our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our activities are also regulated under consumer protection laws applicable to our lending, deposit and other activities. Many of these regulations are intended primarily for the protection of our depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund and not for the benefit of our shareowners. In addition to the regulations of the bank regulatory agencies, as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank, we must also comply with applicable regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Home Loan Bank.

 

Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to restrictions on our business activities, fines and other penalties, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations, capital base and the price of our securities. Further, any new laws, rules and regulations could make compliance more difficult or expensive or otherwise adversely affect our business and financial condition. Please refer to the Section entitled “Business – Regulatory Considerations” in this Report.

 

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 may affect our business.

 

On May 24, 2018, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 ("EGRRCPA") was enacted to modify or repeal certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. EGRRCPA, among other things: (i) allows smaller banks (with up to $10 billion in assets) to offer certain qualified residential mortgages that are not subject to the ability-to-repay requirements; (ii) exempts from appraisal requirements certain transactions involving real estate in rural areas that is valued at less than $400,000; (iii) amends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 to exempt from certain disclosure requirements banks that originate fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans and fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit in each of the last two calendar years; (iv) clarifies that, subject to various conditions, reciprocal deposits of another depository institution obtained using a deposit broker through a deposit placement network for purposes of obtaining maximum deposit insurance would not be considered brokered deposits subject to the FDIC's brokered-deposit regulations; (v) expands the examination cycle for certain banks with less than $3 billion in assets so that on-site examinations must occur not less than once during each 18-month period; (vi) directs federal banking agencies to develop a community bank leverage ratio of not less than 8% and not more than 10% for qualifying community banks; (vii) exempts banks with less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and with trading assets and liabilities less than or equal to 5% of total consolidated assets from the requirements of the Volcker Rule; and (viii) directs the Federal Reserve Board to expand the definition of a small bank holding company under the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement to include banks that, among other conditions, have less than $3 billion in assets. While many of these changes could result in regulatory relief for CCBG,  it is difficult to predict how any new standards under EGRRCPA will be applied to us or its ultimate impact on us. This is in part due to the fact that it requires the enactment of multiple implementing regulations that have yet to be written.

 

Changes in U.S. trade policies and other factors beyond our control may have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

 

There has been recent discussion, imposition, and proposition of revisions to U.S. trade policies and legislation, especially the imposition of tariffs. Such tariffs may cause affected foreign governments to impose their own tariffs in retaliation. It is difficult to predict what the U.S. government or foreign governments will actually do or not do in the future or the impacts such actions will have on CCBG or its customers. Such tariffs, along with other trade restrictions, affecting those items and products used by our customers in their respective businesses could have an adverse impact on our customers' respective financial conditions and their ability to make payments on their loans. This could result in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.

 

On October 1, 2018, the United States, Canada and Mexico agreed on a new trade agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement ("USMCA"), to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The USMCA is still subject to the approval of the Congress and is yet to come into effect. It has yet to be seen what impact the adoption of the USMCA or any subsequent trade agreements made as a response to the USMCA will have on CCBG or its customers. Any such shift in trade policies or agreements could potentially negatively impact the business, financial condition, and results of operations of our customers, and, in turn, that of CCBG.

 

The increased capital requirements may have an adverse effect on us.

 

In 2013, the Federal Reserve Board released its final rules which implement in the United States the Basel III regulatory capital reforms from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the final rule, minimum requirements increased for both the quality and quantity of capital held by banking organizations. Consistent with the international Basel framework, the rule includes a new minimum ratio of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital (“CET1”) to Risk-Weighted Assets (“RWA”) of 4.5% and a CET1 conservation buffer of 2.5% of RWA (which is being phased in from 2016 through 2019) that apply to all supervised financial institutions. As of January 1, 2019, the CET1conservation buffer requirement was 2.5%, which requires us to hold additional CET1 capital in excess of the minimum required to meet the CET1 to RWA ratio requirement. The rule also, among other things, raised the minimum ratio of Tier 1 Capital to RWA from 4% to 6% and included a minimum leverage ratio of 4% for all banking organizations. The impact of the new capital rules requires us to maintain higher levels of capital, which we expect will lower our return on equity. Additionally, if our CET1 to RWA ratio does not exceed the minimum required plus the additional CET1 conservation buffer, we may be restricted in our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions of capital to our shareowners.

 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may have an adverse effect on us

 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017 has positively impacted us by decreasing our federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, but the act poses potential adverse impacts on the banks financial condition as well. We may suffer as a result of the act (1) eliminating interest deductions for certain home equity loans, (2) limiting the deductibility of business interest expense, (3) limiting the deductibility of property taxes, state income taxes, and local incomes taxes, and (4) lowering the limit on the deductibility of mortgage interest paid on single-family residential mortgage loans. These changes may specifically have an adverse impact on the market for residential homes and borrowers abilities to make payments on their mortgages, which could lower the demand for residential mortgage loans and lower the value of properties securing loans that we hold in our portfolio. Such affects could adversely impact our business and financial condition.

 

Compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule safe-harbor could adversely impact our growth or profitability.

 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule, effective as of January 10, 2014, designed to clarify for lenders how they can avoid monetary damages under the Dodd-Frank Act, which holds lenders accountable for ensuring a borrower’s ability to repay a mortgage at the time the loan is originated. Loans that satisfy the “qualified mortgage” safe-harbor will be presumed to have complied with the new ability-to-repay standard. Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule, a “qualified mortgage” loan must not contain certain specified features, including but not limited to:

 

• excessive upfront points and fees (those exceeding 3% of the total loan amount, less “bona fide discount points” for prime loans);
• interest-only payments;
• negative-amortization; and
• terms longer than 30 years.

 

Also, to qualify as a “qualified mortgage,” a borrower’s total monthly debt-to-income ratio may not exceed 43%. Lenders must also verify and document the income and financial resources relied upon to qualify the borrower for the loan and underwrite the loan based on a fully amortizing payment schedule and maximum interest rate during the first five years, taking into account all applicable taxes, insurance and assessments. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule on qualified mortgages could limit our ability or desire to make certain types of loans or loans to certain borrowers, or could make it more expensive and/or time consuming to make these loans, which could adversely impact our growth or profitability.

 

Florida financial institutions, such as CCB, face a higher risk of noncompliance and enforcement actions with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.

 

Since September 11, 2001, banking regulators have intensified their focus on anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance requirements, particularly the anti-money laundering provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. There is also increased scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Since 2004, federal banking regulators and examiners have been extremely aggressive in their supervision and examination of financial institutions located in the State of Florida with respect to the institution’s Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering compliance. Consequently, numerous formal enforcement actions have been instituted against financial institutions.

 

In order to comply with regulations, guidelines and examination procedures in this area, CCB has been required to adopt new policies and procedures and to install new systems. CCB’s policies, procedures and systems are deemed deficient or the policies, procedures and systems of the financial institutions that it has already acquired or may acquire in the future are deficient, CCB would be subject to liability, including fines and regulatory actions such as restrictions on its ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory approvals to proceed with certain aspects of its business plan, including its acquisition plans.

 

Risks Related to Market Events

 

Our loan portfolio is heavily concentrated in mortgage loans secured by properties in Florida and Georgia which causes our risk of loss to be higher than if we had a more geographically diversified portfolio.

 

Our interest-earning assets are heavily concentrated in mortgage loans secured by real estate, particularly real estate located in Florida and Georgia.  At December 31, 2018, approximately 70% of our loans included real estate as a primary, secondary, or tertiary component of collateral. The real estate collateral in each case provides an alternate source of repayment in the event of default by the borrower; however, the value of the collateral may decline during the time the credit is extended. If we are required to liquidate the collateral securing a loan during a period of reduced real estate values to satisfy the debt, our earnings and capital could be adversely affected.

 

Additionally, at December 31, 2018, substantially all of our loans secured by real estate are secured by commercial and residential properties located in Northern Florida and Middle Georgia. The concentration of our loans in these areas subjects us to risk that a downturn in the economy or recession in these areas could result in a decrease in loan originations and increases in delinquencies and foreclosures, which would more greatly affect us than if our lending were more geographically diversified. In addition, since a large portion of our portfolio is secured by properties located in Florida and Georgia, the occurrence of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, or a man-made disaster could result in a decline in loan originations, a decline in the value or destruction of mortgaged properties and an increase in the risk of delinquencies, foreclosures or loss on loans originated by us. We may suffer further losses due to the decline in the value of the properties underlying our mortgage loans, which would have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Our concentration in loans secured by real estate may increase our credit losses, which would negatively affect our financial results.

 

Due to the lack of diversified industry within the markets served by CCB Bank and the relatively close proximity of our geographic markets, we have both geographic concentrations as well as concentrations in the types of loans funded. Specifically, due to the nature of our markets, a significant portion of the portfolio has historically been secured with real estate.  At December 31, 2018, approximately 34% and 31% of our $1.781 billion loan portfolio was secured by commercial real estate and residential real estate, respectively. As of this same date, approximately 5% was secured by property under construction.

 

In the event we are required to foreclose on a property securing one of our mortgage loans or otherwise pursue our remedies in order to protect our investment, we may be unable to recover funds in an amount equal to our projected return on our investment or in an amount sufficient to prevent a loss to us due to prevailing economic conditions, real estate values and other factors associated with the ownership of real property. As a result, the market value of the real estate or other collateral underlying our loans may not, at any given time, be sufficient to satisfy the outstanding principal amount of the loans, and consequently, we would sustain loan losses.

 

The fair value of our investments could decline which would cause a reduction in shareowners’ equity.

 

A large portion of our investment securities portfolio at December 31, 2018 has been designated as available-for-sale pursuant to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles relating to accounting for investments. Such principles require that unrealized gains and losses in the estimated value of the available-for-sale portfolio be “marked to market” and reflected as a separate item in shareowners’ equity (net of tax) as accumulated other comprehensive income/losses. Shareowners’ equity will continue to reflect the unrealized gains and losses (net of tax) of these investments. The fair value of our investment portfolio may decline, causing a corresponding decline in shareowners’ equity.

 

Management believes that several factors will affect the fair values of our investment portfolio. These include, but are not limited to, changes in interest rates or expectations of changes in interest rates, the degree of volatility in the securities markets, inflation rates or expectations of inflation and the slope of the interest rate yield curve (the yield curve refers to the differences between short-term and long-term interest rates; a positively sloped yield curve means short-term rates are lower than long-term rates). These and other factors may impact specific categories of the portfolio differently, and we cannot predict the effect these factors may have on any specific category.

 

Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock

 

We may be unable to pay dividends in the future.

 

In 2018, our Board of Directors declared four quarterly cash dividends. Declarations of any future dividends will be contingent on our ability to earn sufficient profits and to remain well capitalized, including our ability to hold and generate sufficient capital to comply with the new CET1 conservation buffer requirement. In addition, due to our contractual obligations with the holders of our trust preferred securities, if we defer the payment of accrued interest owed to the holders of our trust preferred securities, we may not make dividend payments to our shareowners.

 

Further, under applicable statutes and regulations, CCB’s board of directors, after charging-off bad debts, depreciation and other worthless assets, if any, and making provisions for reasonably anticipated future losses on loans and other assets, may quarterly, semi-annually, or annually declare and pay dividends to CCBG of up to the aggregate net income of that period combined with the CCB’s retained net income for the preceding two years and, with the approval of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and Federal Reserve, declare a dividend from retained net income which accrued prior to the preceding two years.  Additional state laws generally applicable to Florida corporations may also limit our ability to declare and pay dividends. Thus, our ability to fund future dividends may be restricted by state and federal laws and regulations. 

 

Limited trading activity for shares of our common stock may contribute to price volatility.

 

While our common stock is listed and traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, there has historically been limited trading activity in our common stock.  The average daily trading volume of our common stock over the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018 was approximately 21,082 shares. Due to the limited trading activity of our common stock, relativity small trades may have a significant impact on the price of our common stock.

 

Securities analysts may not initiate coverage or continue to cover our common stock, and this may have a negative impact on its market price.

 

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities analysts publish about us and our business. We do not have any control over securities analysts and they may not initiate coverage or continue to cover our common stock. If securities analysts do not cover our common stock, the lack of research coverage may adversely affect its market price. If we are covered by securities analysts, and our common stock is the subject of an unfavorable report, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover our Company or fails to publish regular reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which may cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

 

Our directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners, if acting together, have substantial control over all matters requiring shareowner approval, including changes of control. Because Mr. William G. Smith, Jr. is a principal shareowner and our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of CCB, he has substantial control over all matters on a day to day basis.

 

Our directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners beneficially owned approximately 21.0% of the outstanding shares of our common stock at December 31, 2018.  William G. Smith, Jr., our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, owned 18.1% of our shares as of that date.  Accordingly, these directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners, if acting together, may be able to influence or control matters requiring approval by our shareowners, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions or other extraordinary transactions. Moreover, because William G. Smith, Jr. is the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of CCBG and Chairman of CCB, he has substantial control over all matters on a day-to-day basis, including the nomination and election of directors.

 

These directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners may also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. The concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company, could deprive our shareowners of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our Company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock. You may also have difficulty changing management, the composition of the Board of Directors, or the general direction of our Company.

 

Our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and certain laws and regulations may prevent or delay transactions you might favor, including a sale or merger of CCBG.

 

CCBG is registered with the Federal Reserve as a financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act (“BHCA”). As a result, we are subject to supervisory regulation and examination by the Federal Reserve. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the BHCA, and other federal laws subject financial holding companies to particular restrictions on the types of activities in which they may engage, and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities, including regulatory enforcement actions for violations of laws and regulations.

 

Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, certain laws and regulations and various other factors may make it more difficult and expensive for companies or persons to acquire control of us without the consent of our Board of Directors. It is possible, however, that you would want a takeover attempt to succeed because, for example, a potential buyer could offer a premium over the then prevailing price of our common stock.

 

For example, our Articles of Incorporation permit our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock without shareowner action. The ability to issue preferred stock could discourage a company from attempting to obtain control of us by means of a tender offer, merger, proxy contest or otherwise. Additionally, our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws divide our Board of Directors into three classes, as nearly equal in size as possible, with staggered three-year terms. One class is elected each year. The classification of our Board of Directors could make it more difficult for a company to acquire control of us. We are also subject to certain provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act and our Articles of Incorporation that relate to business combinations with interested shareowners. Other provisions in our Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws that may discourage takeover attempts or make them more difficult include:

 

• Supermajority voting requirements to remove a director from office;
• Provisions regarding the timing and content of shareowner proposals and nominations;
• Supermajority voting requirements to amend Articles of Incorporation unless approval is received by a majority of “disinterested directors”;
• Absence of cumulative voting; and

·          Inability for shareowners to take action by written consent.

 

Shares of our common stock are not an insured deposit and may lose value.

 

The shares of our common stock are not a bank deposit and will not be insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Your investment will be subject to investment risk, and you must be capable of affording the loss of your entire investment.

 

Item 1B.     Unresolved Staff Comments

 

None.

 

Item 2.       Properties

 

We are headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.  Our executive office is in the Capital City Bank building located on the corner of Tennessee and Monroe Streets in downtown Tallahassee.  The building is owned by CCB, but is located on land leased under a long-term agreement.

 

At December 31, 2018, the Bank had 59 banking offices.  Of the 59 locations, the Bank leases the land, buildings, or both at five locations and owns the land and buildings at the remaining 54.

 

Item 3.        Legal Proceedings

 

We are party to lawsuits and claims arising out of the normal course of business. In management’s opinion, there are no known pending claims or litigation, the outcome of which would, individually or in the aggregate, have a material effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

 

Item 4.       Mine Safety Disclosure.

 

Not applicable.

 

PART II

 

Item 5.        Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Shareowner Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

Common Stock Market Prices and Dividends

 

Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “CCBG.”  We had a total of 1,312 shareowners of record at February 28, 2019.

 

The following table presents the range of high and low closing sales prices reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and cash dividends declared for each quarter during the past two years.  

 

 

Florida law and Federal regulations impose restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and limitations on the amount of dividends that the Bank can pay annually to us.  See Item 1. “Capital; Dividends; Sources of Strength” and “Dividends” in the Business section on page 12 and 13, Item 1A. “Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock” in the Risk Factors section on page 26, Item 7. “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Dividends” – in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Operating Results on page 55 and Note 14 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Performance Graph

 

This performance graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total shareholder return of the Nasdaq Composite Index and the SNL Financial LC $1B-$5B Bank Index for the past five years.  The graph assumes that $100 was invested on December 31, 2013 in our common stock and each of the above indices, and that all dividends were reinvested.  The shareholder return shown below represents past performance and should not be considered indicative of future performance.

 

  

 

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

 

The following table contains information about all purchases made by, or on behalf of, us and any affiliated purchaser (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act) of shares or other units of any class of our equity securities that is registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act.