UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008

Commission file number 001-31940

 

F.N.B. CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

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

 

 

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 x     No o

 

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 o     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 o

 

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 the 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.  o

 

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

 

(Do not check if a 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 o     No x

 

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s outstanding voting common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2008, determined using a per share closing price on that date of $11.78, as quoted on the New York Stock Exchange, was $956,311,874.

 

As of January 31, 2009, the registrant had outstanding 89,695,788 shares of common stock.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement of F.N.B. Corporation to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 20, 2009 (Proxy Statement) are incorporated by reference into Part III, items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or before April 30, 2009.

 

 

INDEX

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements: From time to time F.N.B. Corporation (the Corporation) has made and may continue to make written or oral forward-looking statements with respect to the Corporation’s outlook or expectations for earnings, revenues, expenses, capital levels, asset quality or other future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations, or the impact of legal, regulatory or supervisory matters on the Corporation’s business operations or performance. This Annual Report on Form 10-K (the Report) also includes forward-looking statements. With respect to all such forward-looking statements, see Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information in Item 7 of this Report.

 

 

The Corporation was formed in 1974 as a bank holding company. During 2000, the Corporation elected to become and remains a financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLB Act). The Corporation has four reportable business segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance and Consumer Finance. As of December 31, 2008, the Corporation had 225 Community Banking offices in Pennsylvania and Ohio and 58 Consumer Finance offices in those states and Tennessee. The Corporation, through its Community Banking affiliate, also had 6 commercial loan production offices in Pennsylvania and Florida and two mortgage loan production offices in Ohio and Tennessee as of that date.

 

On April 1, 2008, the Corporation completed its acquisition of Omega Financial Corporation (Omega), a diversified financial services company based in State College, Pennsylvania. On the acquisition date, Omega had $1.8 billion in assets, which included $1.1 billion in loans, and $1.3 billion in deposits. The all-stock transaction, valued at approximately $388.2 million, resulted in the Corporation issuing 25,362,525 shares of its common stock in exchange for 12,544,150 shares of Omega common stock. The assets and liabilities of Omega were recorded on the Corporation’s balance sheet at their fair values as of April 1, 2008, the acquisition date, and Omega’s results of operations have been included in the Corporation’s consolidated statement of income since then. Omega’s banking subsidiary, Omega Bank, was merged into First National Bank of Pennsylvania (FNBPA) on April 1, 2008.

 

On August 16, 2008, the Corporation completed its acquisition of Iron and Glass Bancorp, Inc. (IRGB), a bank holding company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On the acquisition date, IRGB had $301.7 million in assets, which included $168.8 million in loans, and $252.3 million in deposits. The transaction, valued at $83.7 million, resulted in the Corporation paying $36.7 million in cash and issuing 3,176,990 shares of its common stock in exchange for 1,125,026 shares of IRGB common stock. The assets and liabilities of IRGB were recorded on the Corporation’s balance sheet at their fair values as of August 16, 2008, the acquisition date, and IRGB’s results of operations have been included in the Corporation’s consolidated statement of income since then. IRGB’s banking subsidiary, Iron and Glass Bank, was merged into FNBPA on August 16, 2008.

 

The Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a full range of financial services, principally to consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses in its market areas. The Corporation’s business strategy focuses primarily on providing quality, community-based financial services adapted to the needs of each of the markets it serves. The Corporation seeks to maintain its community orientation by providing local management with certain autonomy in decision-making, enabling them to respond to customer requests more quickly and to concentrate on transactions within their market areas. However, while the Corporation seeks to preserve some decision-making at a local level, it has established centralized legal, loan review and underwriting, accounting, investment, audit, loan operations and data processing functions. The centralization of these processes has enabled the Corporation to maintain consistent quality of these functions and to achieve certain economies of scale.

 

As of December 31, 2008, the Corporation had total assets of $8.4 billion, loans of $5.8 billion and deposits of $6.1 billion. See Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Report.

Recent Developments

 

On January 9, 2009, the Corporation received a $100.0 million investment as part of its voluntary participation in the United States Treasury Department’s (U.S. Treasury) Capital Purchase Program (CPP) implemented pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) enacted on October 3, 2008.

 

The CPP is a voluntary program implemented by the U.S. Treasury in October 2008 and is available to qualifying financial institutions. As part of the transaction completed on January 9, 2009, the U.S. Treasury purchased 100,000 shares of the Corporation’s Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series C (Preferred Series C Stock) and a warrant to purchase up to 1,302,083 shares of the Corporation’s common stock, for an aggregate purchase price of $100.0 million. The Preferred Series C Stock pays a cumulative dividend of 5% per annum for the first five years and 9% per annum thereafter. The dividends on the Preferred Series C Stock are payable quarterly in arrears on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 of each year. In the event dividends on the Preferred Series C Stock are not paid in full for six dividend periods, whether or not consecutive, the U.S. Treasury will have the right to elect two directors to the Corporation’s Board of Directors and such right shall end when all accrued and unpaid dividends have been paid in full. The warrant has a ten year term and an exercise price of $11.52 per share of the Corporation’s common stock. The uniform terms and conditions for all CPP participants are publicly available at the U.S. Treasury website at:
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/document5hp1207.pdf.

 

In addition, pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Corporation adopted the U.S. Treasury’s standards for executive compensation and corporate governance for the period during which the U.S. Treasury holds the equity issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, including the common stock that may be issued pursuant to the warrant. However, the Securities Purchase Agreement and all related documents may be amended unilaterally by the U.S. Treasury to comply with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed into law by the President on February 17, 2009, and which amended the executive compensation and corporate governance standards previously set forth by the EESA and subsequent U.S. Treasury regulations. The U.S. Treasury is expected to issue regulations to comply with those standards, which generally apply to the Corporation’s top five most highly compensated employees, or senior executive officers, and extend in certain contexts to cover up to the next twenty most highly compensated employees.

 

The standards include (1) ensuring that incentive compensation for senior executive officers does not encourage unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the institution; (2) requiring the clawback of any bonus, retention award, or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive officer or any of the next twenty most highly compensated employees based on statements of earnings, revenues, gains, or other criteria that are later found to be materially inaccurate; (3) agreeing not to deduct for tax purposes executive compensation in excess of $500,000 for each senior executive officer; (4) prohibiting severance payments to a senior executive officer or any of the next five most highly compensated employees; (5) prohibiting the payment or accrual of any bonus, retention award, or incentive compensation to a senior executive officer (except for payments of long-term restricted stock, provided that the award does not vest while the U.S. Treasury’s funds are outstanding and the award does not have a value greater than one third of the receiving employee’s total annual compensation); (6) prohibiting any compensation plan that encourages manipulation of the financial institution’s reporting earnings to enhance the compensation of any of its employees; (7) requiring the establishment of a Board Compensation Committee comprised entirely of independent directors, for the purpose of reviewing employee compensation plans, which must meet at least semiannually to discuss and evaluate employee compensation plans in light of any risk posed by such plans to the financial institution; (8) requiring the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the financial institution to file a written certification of compliance with these standards with its annual filings required under the securities laws; (9) adopting a company-wide policy regarding excessive or luxury expenditures; (10) permitting a separate, non-binding shareholder vote to approve compensation of executives as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and (11) allowing the U.S. Treasury Secretary to review bonuses, retention awards, and other compensation paid to a senior executive officer or any of the next twenty most highly compensated employees prior to February 17, 2009, to determine whether any such payment was inconsistent with the purposes of the TARP or was otherwise contrary to the public interest, and if so, to engage in negotiations with the financial institution and the receiving employee for appropriate reimbursement to the federal government.

The standards above do not apply to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a valid written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009.

 

The executive compensation and corporate governance restrictions will apply so long as the U.S. Treasury owns any of the Corporation’s debt or equity securities acquired in connection with the transactions described herein, including the Preferred Series C Stock or any shares of the Corporation’s common stock issued upon exercise of the warrant; however, the restrictions will not apply during any period in which the U.S. Treasury only holds the warrant to purchase the Corporation’s common stock. Accordingly, the Corporation could be subject to these restrictions for an indefinite period of time. Further, the Securities Purchase Agreement and all related documents may be further amended unilaterally by the U.S. Treasury to the extent required to comply with any changes to the applicable federal statutes. Any such amendments may provide for additional executive compensation and corporate governance standards or modify the standards set forth above.

 

Business Segments

 

In addition to the following information relating to the Corporation’s business segments, information is contained in the Business Segments footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report. As of December 31, 2008, the Community Banking segment consisted of a regional community bank. The Wealth Management segment, as of that date, consisted of a trust company, a registered investment advisor and a subsidiary that offered broker-dealer services through a third party networking arrangement with a non-affiliated licensed broker-dealer entity. The Insurance segment consisted of an insurance agency and a reinsurer as of that date. The Consumer Finance segment consisted of a multi-state consumer finance company as of that date.

 

Community Banking

 

The Corporation’s Community Banking segment consists of FNBPA, which offers services traditionally offered by full-service commercial banks, including commercial and individual demand, savings and time deposit accounts and commercial, mortgage and individual installment loans.

 

The goal of Community Banking is to generate high quality, profitable revenue growth through increased business with its current customers, attract new customer relationships through FNBPA’s current branches and loan production offices and expand into new and existing markets through de novo branch openings, acquisitions and the establishment of additional loan production offices. Consistent with this strategy, on August 16, 2008, April 1, 2008 and May 26, 2006, the Corporation completed its acquisitions of IRGB, Omega and The Legacy Bank (Legacy), respectively. For information pertaining to these acquisitions, see the Mergers and Acquisitions footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report. In addition, the Corporation considers Community Banking a fundamental source of revenue opportunity through the cross-selling of products and services offered by the Corporation’s other business segments.

 

As of December 31, 2008, the Corporation operates its Community Banking business through a network of 225 branches in Pennsylvania and Ohio, including eight branches acquired in the IRGB acquisition and 62 branches acquired in the Omega acquisition.

 

Community Banking also includes five commercial loan production offices in Florida, one commercial loan production office in Pennsylvania, one mortgage loan production office in Ohio and one mortgage loan production office in Tennessee. The underwriting for all loan production offices is centrally performed.

 

The lending philosophy of Community Banking is to establish high quality customer relationships while minimizing credit losses by following strict credit approval standards (which include independent analysis of realizable collateral value), diversifying its loan portfolio by industry and borrower and conducting ongoing review and management of the loan portfolio. Commercial loans are generally made to established businesses within the geographic market areas served by Community Banking.

 

No material portion of the loans or deposits of Community Banking has been obtained from a single or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s loans or deposits or a small group of customers’ loans or deposits by Community Banking would not have a material adverse effect on the Community Banking segment

or on the Corporation. The substantial majority of the loans and deposits have been generated within the geographic market areas in which Community Banking operates.

 

Wealth Management

 

The Corporation’s Wealth Management segment delivers comprehensive wealth management services to individuals, corporations and retirement funds as well as existing customers of Community Banking. Wealth Management provides services to individuals and businesses located within the Corporation’s geographic markets.

 

The Corporation’s Wealth Management operations are conducted through three subsidiaries of the Corporation. The Corporation’s trust subsidiary, First National Trust Company (FNTC), provides a broad range of personal and corporate fiduciary services, including the administration of decedent and trust estates. As of December 31, 2008, the market value of trust assets under management was approximately $2.1 billion. FNTC is required to maintain certain minimum capitalization levels in accordance with regulatory requirements. FNTC periodically measures its capital position to ensure all minimum capitalization levels are maintained.

 

The Corporation’s Wealth Management segment also includes two other wholly-owned subsidiaries. First National Investment Services Company, LLC offers a broad array of investment products and services for customers of Wealth Management through a networking relationship with a third-party licensed brokerage firm. F.N.B. Investment Advisors, Inc. (Investment Advisors), an investment advisor registered with the SEC, offers customers of Wealth Management objective investment programs featuring mutual funds, annuities, stocks and bonds.

 

No material portion of the business of Wealth Management has been obtained from a single or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s business or the business of a small group of customers by Wealth Management would not have a material adverse effect on the Wealth Management segment or on the Corporation.

 

Insurance

 

The Corporation’s Insurance segment operates principally through First National Insurance Agency, LLC (FNIA), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Corporation. FNIA is a full-service insurance brokerage agency offering numerous lines of commercial and personal insurance through major carriers to businesses and individuals primarily within the Corporation’s geographic markets. The goal of FNIA is to grow revenue through cross-selling to existing clients of Community Banking and to gain new clients through its own channels.

 

The Corporation’s Insurance segment also includes a reinsurance subsidiary, Penn-Ohio Life Insurance Company (Penn-Ohio). Penn-Ohio underwrites, as a reinsurer, credit life and accident and health insurance sold by the Corporation’s lending subsidiaries. Additionally, FNBPA owns a direct subsidiary, First National Corporation, which offers title insurance products.

 

No material portion of the business of Insurance has been obtained from a single or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s business or the business of a small group of customers by Insurance would not have a material adverse effect on the Insurance segment or on the Corporation.

 

Consumer Finance

 

The Corporation’s Consumer Finance segment operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Regency Finance Company (Regency), which is involved principally in making personal installment loans to individuals and purchasing installment sales finance contracts from retail merchants. Such activity is primarily funded through the sale of the Corporation’s subordinated notes at Regency’s branch offices. The Consumer Finance segment operates in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Tennessee.

 

No material portion of the business of Consumer Finance has been obtained from a single or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s business or the business of a small group of customers by Consumer Finance would not have a material adverse effect on the Consumer Finance segment or on the Corporation.

Other

 

The Corporation also has seven other subsidiaries. F.N.B. Statutory Trust I and F.N.B. Statutory Trust II were established by the Corporation to issue trust preferred securities to third-party investors. As a result of the Omega acquisition, the Corporation acquired Omega Financial Capital Trust I and Sun Bancorp Statutory Trust I, which also issue trust preferred securities to third-party investors. Regency Consumer Financial Services, Inc. and FNB Consumer Financial Services, Inc. are the general partner and limited partner, respectively, of FNB Financial Services, LP, a company established to issue, administer and repay the subordinated notes through which loans in the Consumer Finance segment are funded. F.N.B. Capital Corporation, LLC (FNB Capital) offers financing options for small- to medium-sized businesses that need financial assistance beyond the parameters of typical commercial bank lending products. Certain financial information concerning these subsidiaries, along with the parent company and intercompany eliminations, are included in the “Parent and Other” category in the Business Segments footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report.

 

Market Area and Competition

 

The Corporation primarily operates in Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. This area is served by several major interstate highways and is located at the approximate midpoint between New York City and Chicago. The primary market area served by the Corporation also extends to the Great Lakes shipping port of Erie, the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg and the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. The Corporation also has five commercial loan production offices in Florida, one commercial loan production office in Pennsylvania one mortgage loan production office in Ohio and one mortgage loan production office in Tennessee. In addition to Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio, the Corporation’s Consumer Finance segment also operates in northern and central Tennessee and central and southern Ohio.

 

The Corporation’s subsidiaries compete for deposits, loans and financial services business with a large number of other financial institutions, such as commercial banks, savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit life insurance companies, mortgage banking companies, consumer finance companies, credit unions and commercial finance and leasing companies, many of which have greater resources than the Corporation. In providing wealth and asset management services, as well as insurance brokerage and merchant banking products and services, the Corporation’s subsidiaries compete with many other financial services firms, brokerage firms, mutual fund complexes, investment management firms, merchant and investment banking firms, trust and fiduciary service providers and insurance agencies.

 

In Regency’s market areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Tennessee, the active competitors include banks, credit unions and national, regional and local consumer finance companies, some of which have substantially greater resources than that of Regency. The ready availability of consumer credit through charge accounts and credit cards constitutes additional competition. In this market area, competition is based on the rates of interest charged for loans, the rates of interest paid to obtain funds and the availability of customer services.

 

The ability to access and use technology is an increasingly important competitive factor in the financial services industry. Technology is not only important with respect to delivery of financial services and protecting the security of customer information, but also in processing information. The Corporation and each of its subsidiaries must continually make technological investments to remain competitive in the financial services industry.

 

Mergers and Acquisitions

 

See the Mergers and Acquisitions footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report.

 

Employees

 

As of January 31, 2009, the Corporation and its subsidiaries had 2,009 full-time and 488 part-time employees. Management of the Corporation considers its relationship with its employees to be satisfactory.

Government Supervision and Regulation

 

The following summary sets forth certain of the material elements of the regulatory framework applicable to bank holding companies and financial holding companies and their subsidiaries and to companies engaged in securities and insurance activities and provides certain specific information about the Corporation. The bank regulatory framework is intended primarily for the protection of depositors through the federal deposit insurance guarantee, and not for the protection of security holders. Numerous laws and regulations govern the operations of financial services institutions and their holding companies. To the extent that the following information describes statutory and regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by express reference to each of the particular statutory and regulatory provisions. A change in applicable statutes, regulations or regulatory policy may have a material effect on the business of the Corporation.

 

General

 

The Corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from its subsidiaries. As a financial holding company and a bank holding company, the Corporation is regulated under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (BHC Act), and is subject to inspection, examination and supervision by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB). The Corporation is also subject to regulation by the SEC as a result of the Corporation’s status as a public company and due to the nature of the business activities of certain of the Corporation’s subsidiaries. The Corporation’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol “FNB” and the Corporation is subject to the rules of the NYSE for listed companies.

 

The Corporation’s subsidiary bank (FNBPA) and trust company (FNTC) are organized as national banking associations, which are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). FNBPA is also subject to certain regulatory requirements of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the FRB and other federal and state regulatory agencies, including requirements to maintain reserves against deposits, restrictions on the types and amounts of loans that may be granted and the interest that may be charged thereon, limitations on the types of investments that may be made, activities that may be engaged in and types of services that may be offered. In addition to banking laws, regulations and regulatory agencies, the Corporation and its subsidiaries are subject to various other laws and regulations and supervision and examination by other regulatory agencies, all of which directly or indirectly affect the operations and management of the Corporation and its ability to make distributions to its stockholders.

 

As a result of the GLB Act, which repealed or modified a number of significant statutory provisions, including those of the Glass-Steagall Act and the BHC Act which imposed restrictions on banking organizations’ ability to engage in certain types of activities, bank holding companies such as the Corporation now have broad authority to engage in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity, including insurance underwriting and brokerage; merchant banking; securities underwriting, dealing and market-making; real estate development; and such additional activities as the FRB in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury determines to be financial in nature or incidental thereto. A bank holding company may engage in these activities directly or through subsidiaries by qualifying as a “financial holding company.” A financial holding company may engage directly or indirectly in activities considered financial in nature, either de novo or by acquisition, provided the financial holding company gives the FRB after-the-fact notice of the new activities. The GLB Act also permits national banks, such as FNBPA, to engage in activities considered financial in nature through a financial subsidiary, subject to certain conditions and limitations and with the approval of the OCC.

 

As a regulated financial holding company, the Corporation’s relationships and good standing with its regulators are of fundamental importance to the continuation and growth of the Corporation’s businesses. The FRB, OCC, FDIC and SEC have broad enforcement powers and authority to approve, deny or refuse to act upon applications or notices of the Corporation or its subsidiaries to conduct new activities, acquire or divest businesses or assets or reconfigure existing operations. In addition, the Corporation, FNBPA and FNTC are subject to examination by various regulators, which results in examination reports (which are not publicly available) and ratings that can impact the conduct and growth of the Corporation’s businesses. These examinations consider not only compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including bank secrecy and anti-money laundering requirements, but also loan quality and administration, capital levels, asset quality and risk management ability

and performance, earnings, liquidity and various other factors, including, but not limited to, community reinvestment. An examination downgrade by any of the Corporation’s federal bank regulators could potentially result in the imposition of significant limitations on the activities and growth of the Corporation and its subsidiaries.

 

The FRB is the “umbrella” regulator of a financial holding company. In addition, a financial holding company’s operating entities, such as its subsidiary broker-dealers, investment managers, merchant banking operations, investment companies, insurance companies and banks, are subject to the jurisdiction of various federal and state “functional” regulators.

 

There are numerous laws, regulations and rules governing the activities of financial institutions and bank holding companies. The following discussion is general in nature and seeks to highlight some of the more significant of these regulatory requirements, but does not purport to be complete or to describe all of the laws and regulations that apply to the Corporation and its subsidiaries.

 

Interstate Banking

 

Under the BHC Act, bank holding companies, including those that are also financial holding companies, are required to obtain the prior approval of the FRB before acquiring more than five percent of any class of voting stock of any non-affiliated bank. Pursuant to the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (Interstate Banking Act), a bank holding company may acquire banks located in states other than its home state without regard to the permissibility of such acquisitions under state law, but subject to any state requirement that the bank has been organized and operating for a minimum period of time, not to exceed five years, and the requirement that the bank holding company, after the proposed acquisition, controls no more than 10 percent of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in the United States and no more than 30 percent or such lesser or greater amount set by state law of such deposits in that state.

 

Subject to certain restrictions, the Interstate Banking Act also authorizes banks to merge across state lines to create interstate banks. The Interstate Banking Act also permits a bank to open new branches in a state in which it does not already have banking operations if such state enacts a law permitting de novo branching. During 2008, the Corporation had one retail subsidiary national bank, FNBPA. FNBPA owns and operates eleven interstate branch offices within Ohio.

 

Capital and Operational Requirements

 

The FRB, the OCC and the FDIC issued substantially similar risk-based and leverage capital guidelines applicable to United States banking organizations. In addition, these regulatory agencies may from time to time require that a banking organization maintain capital above the minimum levels, whether because of its financial condition or actual or anticipated growth.

 

The FRB’s risk-based guidelines are based on a three-tier capital framework. Tier 1 capital includes common stockholders’ equity and qualifying preferred stock, less goodwill and other adjustments. Tier 2 capital consists of preferred stock not qualifying as Tier 1 capital, mandatory convertible debt, limited amounts of subordinated debt, other qualifying term debt and the allowance for loan losses of up to 1.25 percent of risk-weighted assets. Tier 3 capital includes subordinated debt that is unsecured, fully paid, has an original maturity of at least two years, is not redeemable before maturity without prior approval by the FRB and includes a lock-in clause precluding payment of either interest or principal if the payment would cause the issuing bank’s risk-based capital ratio to fall or remain below the required minimum.

 

The Corporation, like other bank holding companies, currently is required to maintain Tier 1 capital and total capital (the sum of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 capital) equal to at least 4.0% and 8.0%, respectively, of its total risk-weighted assets (including various off-balance-sheet items). Risk-based capital ratios are calculated by dividing Tier 1 and total capital by risk-weighted assets. Assets and off-balance sheet exposures are assigned to one of four categories of risk-weights, based primarily on relative credit risk. At December 31, 2008, the Corporation’s Tier 1 and total capital ratios under these guidelines were 9.69% and 11.13%, respectively. At December 31, 2008, the Corporation had $199.0 million of capital securities that qualified as Tier 1 capital and $10.5 million of subordinated debt that qualified as Tier 2 capital.

Bank holding companies and banks are also required to comply with minimum leverage ratio requirements. The leverage ratio is determined by dividing Tier 1 capital by adjusted average total assets (as defined for regulatory purposes). Although the stated minimum ratio is 100 to 200 basis points above three percent, banking organizations are required to maintain a ratio of at least five percent to be classified as well-capitalized. The Corporation’s leverage ratio at December 31, 2008 was 7.34%, and as such, the Corporation meets its leverage ratio requirements.

 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA), among other things, classifies insured depository institutions into five capital categories (well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized) and requires the respective federal regulatory agencies to implement systems for “prompt corrective action” for insured depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements within such categories. FDICIA imposes progressively more restrictive constraints on operations, management and capital distributions, depending on the category in which an institution is classified. Failure to meet the capital guidelines could also subject a banking institution to capital-raising requirements, restrictions on its business and a variety of enforcement remedies, including the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, and in certain circumstances the appointment of a conservator or receiver. An “undercapitalized” bank must develop a capital restoration plan and its parent holding company must guarantee that bank’s compliance with the plan. The liability of the parent holding company under any such guarantee is limited to the lesser of five percent of the bank’s assets at the time it became “undercapitalized” or the amount needed to comply with the plan. Furthermore, in the event of the bankruptcy of the parent holding company, the obligation under such guarantee would take priority over the parent’s general unsecured creditors. In addition, FDICIA requires the various regulatory agencies to prescribe certain non-capital standards for safety and soundness relating generally to operations and management, asset quality and executive compensation and permits regulatory action against a financial institution that does not meet such standards.

 

The various regulatory agencies have adopted substantially similar regulations that define the five capital categories identified by FDICIA, using the total risk-based capital, Tier 1 risk-based capital and leverage capital ratios as the relevant capital measures. Such regulations establish various degrees of corrective action to be taken when an institution is considered undercapitalized. Under the regulations, a “well-capitalized” institution must have a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least six percent, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least ten percent and a leverage ratio of at least five percent and not be subject to a capital directive order. Under these guidelines, FNBPA was considered well-capitalized as of December 31, 2008.

 

The federal bank regulatory authorities’ risk based capital guidelines are based upon the 1998 Capital Accord of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, or “Basel I”. In 2004, federal bank regulators issued a proposed new framework for risk-based capital adequacy, sometimes referred to as “Basel II.” In July 2007, regulators announced their current plan for implementing the most advanced approach under Basel II for banks with over $250 billion in assets or over $10 billion in foreign exposure. In July 2008, regulators proposed rules allowing smaller financial institutions, such as the Corporation and its bank subsidiaries, to select between the current method of calculating risked-based capital (“Basel I”) and a “standardized” approach under Basel II. As proposed, the Basel II standardized approach would lower risk weightings for certain categories of assets (including mortgages) from the weightings reflected in Basel I, but unlike Basel I would require an explicit capital charge for operational risk. The comment period for this “standardized approach” proposal expired on October 27, 2008, but the rule has not yet been finalized. The Corporation and its subsidiaries have not determined whether they will elect to apply the Basel II standardized approach.

 

When determining the adequacy of an institution’s capital, federal regulators must also take into consideration (a) concentrations of credit risk; (b) interest rate risk (when the interest rate sensitivity of an institution’s assets does not match the sensitivity of its liabilities or its off-balance sheet position) and (c) risks from non-traditional activities, as well as an institution’s ability to manage those risks. This evaluation is made as a part of the institution’s regular safety and soundness examination. In addition, the Corporation, and any bank with significant trading activity, must incorporate a measure for market risk in their regulatory capital calculations.

Deposit Insurance and Premiums

 

The deposits of FNBPA are insured to the maximum extent permitted by the Deposit Insurance Fund, which is administered by the FDIC. Insured institutions are assigned to one of three capital groups which are based solely on the level of an institution’s capital: “well-capitalized,” “adequately capitalized” and “undercapitalized.” There are also three supervisory groups generally based on an institution’s CAMELS composite rating. Assessment rates for insured institutions are determined semi-annually by the FDIC and as of December 31, 2008 ranged from five basis points for well-capitalized and well-managed institutions with no substantial supervisory concerns to 43 basis points for undercapitalized institutions with substantial supervisory concerns.

 

In addition, all institutions with deposits insured by the FDIC are required to pay assessments to fund interest payments on bonds issued by the Financing Corporation, a mixed-ownership government corporation established to recapitalize a predecessor to the Deposit Insurance Fund. The assessment rate for the third quarter of 2008 was 0.0028% of insured deposits and is adjusted quarterly. These assessments will continue until the Financing Corporation’s bonds mature in 2019.

 

On October 7, 2008, the FDIC adopted a restoration plan designed to replenish the Deposit Insurance Fund over a period of five years and to increase the deposit insurance reserve ratio, which had decreased to 1.01% of insured deposits on June 30, 2008, to the statutory minimum of 1.15% of insured deposits by December 31, 2013. In order to implement the restoration plan, the FDIC proposes to change both its risk-based assessment system and its base assessment rates. Under the FDIC’s proposed restoration plan, new base assessment rates would increase in 2009. For the first quarter of 2009, rates would increase uniformly by 7 basis points. Beginning April 1, 2009, the rates would range from 10-14 basis points for Risk Category I institutions, such as FNBPA, to 45 basis points for Risk Category IV institutions. Changes to the risk-based assessment system would include increasing premiums for institutions that rely on excessive amounts of brokered deposits, including the Promontory’s Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Services (CDARS), increasing premiums for excessive use of secured liabilities, including Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances, lowering premiums for smaller institutions with very high capital levels and adding financial ratios and debt issuer ratings to the premium calculations for banks with over $10 billion in assets, while providing a reduction for their unsecured debt.

 

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

 

Pursuant to the authority granted under the EESA, the Secretary of the Treasury created the CPP, enacted as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), under which the U.S. Treasury will invest up to $250 billion in senior preferred stock of qualifying U.S. banks and savings associations or their holding companies. Such financial institutions may issue senior preferred stock with a value equal to not less than 1% of risk-weighted assets and not more than the lesser of $25 billion or 3% of risk-weighted assets. The senior preferred stock will pay dividends at a rate of 5% per annum until the fifth anniversary of the investment and thereafter at a rate of 9% per annum. The senior preferred stock may not be redeemed for three years except with the proceeds from an offering of common stock or preferred stock qualifying as Tier 1 capital in an amount equal to not less than 25% of the amount of the senior preferred. After three years, the senior preferred may be redeemed at any time in whole or in part by the financial institution. No dividends may be paid on common stock unless dividends have been paid on the senior preferred stock. Until the third anniversary of the issuance of the senior preferred stock, the consent of the U.S. Treasury will be required for any increase in the dividends on the common stock or for any stock repurchases unless the senior preferred stock has been redeemed in its entirety or the U.S. Treasury has transferred the senior preferred stock to third parties. The senior preferred stock will not have voting rights other than the right to vote as a class on the issuance of any preferred stock ranking senior to such stock, any change in its terms, or any merger, exchange or similar transaction that would adversely affect its rights. The senior preferred stock will also have the right to elect two directors to the financial institution’s Board of Directors if dividends have not been paid for six periods, whether or not consecutive. The senior preferred stock will be freely transferable and participating institutions will be required to file a shelf registration statement covering the senior preferred stock. The issuing institution must grant the Treasury piggyback registration rights with respect to the senior preferred stock. Prior to issuance, the financial institution and its senior executive officers must modify or terminate all benefit plans and arrangements to comply with EESA requirements. Senior executives must also waive any claims against the U.S. Treasury.

In connection with the issuance of the senior preferred stock, participating institutions must issue to the U.S. Treasury immediately exercisable 10-year warrants to purchase common stock with an aggregate market price equal to 15% of the amount of the senior preferred stock. The exercise price of the warrants will equal the market price of the common stock on the date of the investment. The U.S. Treasury may only exercise or transfer one-half of the warrants prior to the earlier of December 31, 2009 or the date the issuing financial institution has received proceeds equal to the senior preferred investment from one or more offerings of common or preferred stock qualifying as Tier 1 capital. The U.S. Treasury will not exercise voting rights with respect to any shares of common stock acquired through the exercise of the warrants. The financial institution must file a shelf registration statement covering the warrants and underlying common stock as soon as practicable after issuance and grant piggyback registration rights to the U.S. Treasury. The number of warrants will be reduced by one-half if the financial institution raises capital equal to the amount of the senior preferred through one or more offerings of common stock or preferred stock qualifying as Tier 1 capital. If the financial institution does not have sufficient authorized shares of common stock available to satisfy the warrants or their issuance otherwise requires shareholder approval, the financial institution must call a meeting of shareholders for that purpose as soon as practicable after the date of investment. The exercise price of the warrants will be reduced by 15% for each six months that lapse before shareholder approval is obtained subject to a maximum reduction of 45%.

 

The Corporation has elected to participate in the CPP and the details concerning the Corporation’s CPP participation are described under the Recent Developments caption in the Business section in Item 1 of this Report.

 

With respect to deposit insurance, the EESA authorizes the FDIC to increase the maximum deposit insurance amount up to $250,000 until December 31, 2009, and removes the statutory limits on the FDIC’s ability to borrow from the U.S. Treasury during this period. The FDIC has authorized the increase in the maximum deposit insurance amount. The FDIC, however, may not take the temporary increase in deposit insurance coverage into account when setting assessments. EESA allows financial institutions to treat any losses on certain sales or exchanges of the preferred stock of the Federal National Mortgage Association or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation as an ordinary loss for tax purposes. In a related action, the FDIC established a Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) under which the FDIC provides a guarantee for newly-issued senior unsecured debt and non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts at eligible insured institutions. For non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts, a 10 basis point annual rate surcharge will be applied to deposit amounts in excess of $250,000. The Corporation has elected to participate in the CPP and has opted to participate in the TLGP.

 

Financial Stability Plan

 

On February 10, 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced the Financial Stability Plan, a program designed to further strengthen the financial system through additional capital injections into banks, creation of a public-private investment fund to purchase troubled assets, establishment of guidelines for mortgage modification, and the expansion of a FRB lending program aimed at small businesses and communities.

 

The Administration is expected to move rapidly to develop and expound the details of the Financial Stability Plan. The current plan “fact sheet” indicates that major U.S. banking organizations (those with assets in excess of $100 billion) will be required to undergo a coordinated regulatory review which will include a comprehensive balance sheet “stress test.” In addition, the fact sheet indicates that the Financial Stability Plan will call for greater transparency, accountability, and conditionality for firms receiving assistance under the programs. However, it specifically provides that these new standards will apply going forward, and are not retroactive.

 

New Executive Compensation Requirements

 

The TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009 modifies the restrictions on the Corporation with regard to standards for executive compensation and corporate governance for the period during which the U.S. Treasury holds the equity issued under the Securities Purchase Agreement, including the common stock which may be issued pursuant to the warrant, but not during any period during which the U.S. Treasury holds only warrants to purchase common stock of the Corporation. These standards generally apply to the top five most highly

compensated executives of the Corporation whose compensation is required to be disclosed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and any regulations issued thereunder.

 

The standards include (1) ensuring that incentive compensation for senior executives does not encourage unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the financial institution; and (2) required clawback of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive based on statements of earnings, gains, or other criteria that are later proven to be materially inaccurate. In addition, during the period in which any obligation arising from the CPP remains outstanding, the standards shall also include (1) prohibition on making golden parachute payments to senior executives and the next five most highly-compensated employees of the Corporation, and (2) prohibition on paying or accruing any bonus, retention award, or incentive compensation, other than payment of long-term restricted stock meeting certain criteria, for certain employees of the financial institution. In the case of the Corporation, the latter prohibition shall apply to at least its five most highly-compensated employees. However, the prohibition does not apply retroactively to preexisting employment contracts.

 

The Corporation is required to establish a Board Compensation Committee comprised entirely of independent directors, which shall meet at least semiannually to review and evaluate employee compensation plans in light of the requirements. Finally, during the period in which any obligation arising from the CPP remains outstanding, the Corporation shall, in any proxy or consent or authorization for an annual or other meeting of the shareholders, permit a separate shareholder vote to approve the compensation of executives, but the vote shall not be binding on, and may not be construed as overruling a decision by, the board of directors.

 

Community Reinvestment Act

 

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, or the CRA, requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas consistent with safe and sound banking practices. Under the CRA, each depository institution is required to help meet the credit needs of its market areas by, among other things, providing credit to low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. Depository institutions are periodically examined for compliance with the CRA and are assigned ratings. In order for a financial holding company to commence any new activity permitted by the BHC Act, or to acquire any company engaged in any new activity permitted by the BHC Act, each insured depository institution subsidiary of the financial holding company must have received a rating of at least “satisfactory” in its most recent examination under the CRA. Furthermore, banking regulators take into account CRA ratings when considering approval of a proposed transaction.

 

Financial Privacy

 

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

 

Anti-Money Laundering Initiatives and the USA Patriot Act

 

A major focus of governmental policy on financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The USA Patriot Act of 2001, or the USA Patriot Act, substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The U.S. Treasury has issued a number of regulations that apply various requirements of the USA Patriot Act to financial institutions such as FNBPA. These regulations require financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to verify the identity of their customers. Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal and reputational consequences for the institution.

Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulation

 

The United States has instituted economic sanctions which affect transactions with designated foreign countries, nationals and others. These are typically known as the “OFAC rules” because they are administered by the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The OFAC-administered sanctions target countries in various ways. Generally, however, they contain one or more of the following elements: (i) restrictions on trade with or investment in a sanctioned country, including prohibitions against direct or indirect imports from and exports to a sanctioned country, and prohibitions on “U.S. persons” engaging in financial transactions which relate to investments in, or providing investment-related advice or assistance to, a sanctioned country; and (ii) a blocking of assets in which the government or specially designated nationals of the sanctioned country have an interest, by prohibiting transfers of property subject to U.S. jurisdiction (including property in the possession or control of U.S. persons). Blocked assets (e.g., property and bank deposits) cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off or transferred in any manner without a license from OFAC. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences for the institution.

 

Consumer Protection Statutes and Regulations

 

FNBPA is subject to many federal consumer protection statutes and regulations including the Truth in Lending Act, Truth in Savings Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Housing Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Among other things, these acts:

 

 

Dividend Restrictions

 

The Corporation’s primary source of funds for cash distributions to its stockholders, and funds used to pay principal and interest on its indebtedness, is dividends received from FNBPA. FNBPA is subject to federal laws and regulations governing its ability to pay dividends to the Corporation. FNBPA is subject to various regulatory policies and requirements relating to the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain capital above regulatory minimums. Additionally, FNBPA requires prior approval of the OCC for the payment of a dividend if the total of all dividends declared in a calendar year would exceed the total of its net income for the year combined with its retained net income for the two preceding years. The appropriate federal regulatory agency may determine under certain circumstances that the payment of dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice and prohibit payment thereof. In addition to dividends from FNBPA, other sources of parent company liquidity for the Corporation include cash and short-term investments, as well as dividends and loan repayments from other subsidiaries.

 

In addition, the ability of the Corporation and FNBPA to pay dividends may be affected by the various minimum capital requirements and the capital and non-capital standards established under FDICIA and the terms of the CPP, as described above. The right of the Corporation, its stockholders and its creditors to participate in any distribution of the assets or earnings of the Corporation’s subsidiaries is further subject to the prior claims of creditors of the respective subsidiaries.

 

Source of Strength

 

According to FRB policy, a financial or bank holding company is expected to act as a source of financial strength to each of its subsidiary banks and to commit resources to support each such subsidiary. Consistent with the

“source of strength” policy, the FRB has stated that, as a matter of prudent banking, a bank holding company generally should not maintain a rate of cash dividends unless its net income available to common stockholders has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends and the prospective rate of earnings retention appears to be consistent with the Corporation’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. This support may be required at times when a bank holding company may not be able to provide such support. Similarly, under the cross-guarantee provisions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, in the event of a loss suffered or anticipated by the FDIC either as a result of default of a banking subsidiary or related to FDIC assistance provided to a subsidiary in danger of default, the other banks that are members of the FDIC may be assessed for the FDIC’s loss, subject to certain exceptions.

 

In addition, if FNBPA was no longer “well-capitalized” and “well-managed” within the meaning of the BHC Act and FRB rules (which take into consideration capital ratios, examination ratings and other factors), the expedited processing of certain types of FRB applications would not be available to the Corporation. Moreover, examination ratings of “3” or lower, “unsatisfactory” ratings, lower capital ratios below well-capitalized levels, regulatory concerns regarding management, controls, assets, operations or other factors can all potentially result in practical limitations on the ability of a bank or bank holding company to engage in new activities, grow, acquire new businesses, repurchase its stock or pay dividends or continue to conduct existing activities.

 

Securities and Exchange Commission

 

The Corporation is also subject to regulation by the SEC by virtue of the Corporation’s status as a public company and due to the nature of the business activities of certain subsidiaries.

 

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 contains important requirements for public companies in the area of financial disclosure and corporate governance. In accordance with section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, written certifications by the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are required with respect to each of the Corporation’s quarterly and annual reports filed with the SEC. These certifications attest that the applicable report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact. The Corporation also maintains a program designed to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which includes the identification of significant processes and accounts, documentation of the design of process and entity level controls and testing of the operating effectiveness of key controls. See Item 9A, Controls and Procedures, of this Report for the Corporation’s evaluation of its disclosure controls and procedures.

 

Investment Advisors is registered with the SEC as an investment advisor and, therefore, is subject to the requirements of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and the SEC’s regulations thereunder. The principal purpose of the regulations applicable to investment advisors is the protection of investment advisory clients and the securities markets, rather than the protection of creditors and stockholders of investment advisors. The regulations applicable to investment advisors cover all aspects of the investment advisory business, including limitations on the ability of investment advisors to charge performance-based or non-refundable fees to clients, record-keeping, operating, marketing and reporting requirements, disclosure requirements, limitations on principal transactions between an advisor or its affiliates and advisory clients, as well as other anti-fraud prohibitions. The Corporation’s investment advisory subsidiary also may be subject to certain state securities laws and regulations.

 

Additional legislation, changes in or new rules promulgated by the SEC and other federal and state regulatory authorities and self-regulatory organizations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules, may directly affect the method of operation and profitability of Investment Advisors. The profitability of Investment Advisors could also be affected by rules and regulations that impact the business and financial communities in general, including changes to the laws governing taxation, antitrust regulation, homeland security and electronic commerce.

 

Under various provisions of the federal and state securities laws, including in particular those applicable to broker-dealers, investment advisors and registered investment companies and their service providers, a determination by a court or regulatory agency that certain violations have occurred at a company or its affiliates can result in a limitation of permitted activities and disqualification to continue to conduct certain activities.

Investment Advisors is also subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), among others. The principal purpose of these regulations is the protection of clients and the securities markets, rather than the protection of stockholders and creditors.

 

Consumer Finance Subsidiary

 

Regency is subject to regulation under Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Ohio state laws that require, among other things, that it maintain licenses in effect for consumer finance operations for each of its offices. Representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking, the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions and the Ohio Division of Consumer Finance periodically visit Regency’s offices and conduct extensive examinations in order to determine compliance with such laws and regulations. Additionally, the FRB, as “umbrella” regulator of the Corporation pursuant to the GLB Act, may conduct an examination of Regency’s offices or operations. Such examinations include a review of loans and the collateral therefor, as well as a check of the procedures employed for making and collecting loans. Additionally, Regency is subject to certain federal laws that require that certain information relating to credit terms be disclosed to customers and, in certain instances, afford customers the right to rescind transactions.

 

Insurance Agencies

 

FNIA is subject to licensing requirements and extensive regulation under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the various states in which FNIA conducts business. These laws and regulations are primarily for the benefit of policyholders. In all jurisdictions, the applicable laws and regulations are subject to amendment or interpretation by regulatory authorities. Generally, such authorities are vested with relatively broad discretion to grant, renew and revoke licenses and approvals and to implement regulations. Licenses may be denied or revoked for various reasons, including the violation of such regulations or the conviction of certain crimes. Possible sanctions that may be imposed for violation of regulations include the suspension of individual employees, limitations on engaging in a particular business for a specified period of time, revocation of licenses, censures and fines.

 

Penn-Ohio is subject to examination on a triennial basis by the Arizona Department of Insurance. Representatives of the Arizona Department of Insurance periodically determine whether Penn-Ohio has maintained required reserves, established adequate deposits under a reinsurance agreement and complied with reporting requirements under the applicable Arizona statutes.

 

Merchant Banking

 

FNB Capital is subject to regulation and examination by the FRB and is subject to rules and regulations issued by FINRA.

 

Governmental Policies

 

The operations of the Corporation and its subsidiaries are affected not only by general economic conditions, but also by the policies of various regulatory authorities. In particular, the FRB regulates monetary policy and interest rates in order to influence general economic conditions. These policies have a significant influence on overall growth and distribution of loans, investments and deposits and affect interest rates charged on loans or paid for time and savings deposits. FRB monetary policies have had a significant effect on the operating results of all financial institutions in the past and may continue to do so in the future.

 

Available Information

 

The Corporation maintains a website at www.fnbcorporation.com. The Corporation makes available on its website, free of charge, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K (and amendments to any of the foregoing) as soon as practicable after such reports are filed with or furnished to the SEC. These reports are available on the Corporation’s website at www.fnbcorporation.com and are also available to stockholders, free of charge, upon written request to F.N.B. Corporation, Attn: David B. Mogle, Corporate Secretary, One F.N.B. Boulevard, Hermitage, PA

16148. A fee to cover the Corporation’s reproduction costs will be charged for any requested exhibits to these documents. The public may read and copy the materials the Corporation files with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room, located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information regarding the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The public may also read and copy the materials the Corporation files with the SEC by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “FNB”. The Corporation filed the certifications of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) required pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 with respect to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2007 with the SEC as exhibits to that Report and has filed certifications required by Section 302 of that Act with respect to this Annual Report on Form 10-K as exhibits to this Report. The Corporation’s CEO submitted the required annual CEO Certification, without qualification, regarding the NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards to the NYSE within 30 days of the 2008 annual shareholders’ meeting. The Corporation’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, the Charters of its Audit, Compensation, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees and the Corporation’s Corporate Governance Guidelines are available on the Corporation’s website and in printed form upon request.

 

 

As a financial services organization, the Corporation takes on a certain amount of risk in every business decision and activity. For example, every time FNBPA opens an account or approves a loan for a customer, processes a payment, hires a new employee, or implements a new computer system, FNBPA and the Corporation incur a certain amount of risk. As an organization, the Corporation must balance revenue generation and profitability with the risks associated with its business activities. Risk management is not about eliminating risks, but about identifying and accepting risks and then effectively managing them so as to optimize total shareholder value.

 

The Corporation has identified five major categories of risk: credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, operational risk and compliance risk. Credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk, and the program implemented by management to address these risks, are more fully discussed in the Market Risk section of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which is included in Item 7 of this Report. Operational risk arises from inadequate information systems and technology, weak internal control systems or other failed internal processes or systems, human error, fraud or external events. Compliance risk relates to each of the other four major categories of risk listed above, but specifically addresses internal control failures that result in non-compliance with laws, rules, regulations or ethical standards.

 

The key to effective risk management is to be proactive in identifying, measuring, evaluating and monitoring risk on an ongoing basis. Risk management practices support decision-making, improve the success rate for new initiatives, and strengthen the market’s confidence in the Corporation and its affiliates.

 

The Corporation’s risk management process is supported through a governance structure involving its Board of Directors and senior management. The Corporation’s Risk Committee, which is comprised of various members of the Board of Directors, helps insure that business decisions within the organization are executed within the Corporation’s desired risk profile. The Risk Committee has the following key roles:

 

 

Additionally, FNBPA has a Risk Management Committee comprised of senior management to provide more day-to-day oversight to specific areas of risk with respect to the level of risk and risk management structure. The Risk Management Committee reports on a regular basis to the Corporation’s Risk Committee regarding the enterprise risk profile of the Corporation and other relevant risk management issues. The Corporation’s audit function performs an independent assessment of the internal control environment. Moreover, the Corporation’s audit function plays a critical role in risk management, testing the operation of internal control systems and reporting findings to management and to the Corporation’s Audit Committee. Both the Corporation’s Risk Committee and FNBPA’s Risk Management Committee regularly assess the Corporation’s enterprise-wide risk profile and provide guidance on actions needed to address key risk issues.

The following are the most significant risk factors that affect the Corporation. These risk factors are also discussed further in other parts of this Report.

 

Recent negative developments in the financial services industry and U.S. and global credit markets may adversely impact the Corporation’s results of operations.

 

The recent national and global economic downturn has resulted in unprecedented levels of financial market volatility which may depress the market value of financial institutions, limit access to capital or have a material adverse effect on the financial condition or results of operations of banking companies. In addition, the possible duration and severity of the adverse economic cycle is unknown and may exacerbate the Corporation’s exposure to credit risk. The U.S. Treasury and the FDIC have initiated programs to address economic stabilization, yet the efficacy of these programs in stabilizing the economy and the banking system at large are uncertain. Details as to the Corporation’s future participation in or access to such programs and their subsequent impact on the Corporation also remain uncertain.

 

The competition for deposits has increased significantly due to liquidity concerns at many financial institutions. Stock prices of bank holding companies, like the Corporation, have been negatively affected by the current condition of the financial markets, as has the Corporation’s ability, if needed, to raise capital or borrow in the debt markets compared to recent years. As a result, financial institution regulatory agencies are expected to be very aggressive in responding to concerns and trends regarding lending and funding practices and liquidity standards identified in examinations, including issuing many formal enforcement actions. Negative developments in the financial services industry and the impact of potential new legislation and regulations in response to those developments could negatively impact the Corporation’s business by restricting its operations, including its ability to originate or sell loans or raise additional capital, and could adversely impact the Corporation’s financial performance.

 

Interest rate volatility could significantly harm the Corporation’s business.

 

The Corporation’s results of operations are affected by the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government and the regulatory policies of governmental authorities. A significant component of the Corporation’s earnings is its net interest income, which is the difference between the income from interest earning assets, such as loans, and the expense of interest bearing liabilities, such as deposits. A change in market interest rates could adversely affect the Corporation’s earnings if market interest rates change such that the interest the Corporation pays on deposits and borrowings increases faster or decreases more slowly than the interest it collects on loans and investments. Consequently, the business of the Corporation, along with that of other financial institutions, generally is sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

 

The Corporation’s results of operations are significantly affected by the ability of its borrowers to repay their loans.

 

Lending money is an essential part of the banking business. However, borrowers do not always repay their loans. The risk of non-payment is affected by:

 

 

Generally, commercial/industrial, construction and commercial real estate loans present a greater risk of non-payment by a borrower than other types of loans. For additional information, see the Lending Activity section of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which is included in Item 7 of this Report. In addition, consumer loans typically have shorter terms and lower balances with higher yields compared to real estate mortgage loans, but generally carry higher risks of default. Consumer loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and thus are more likely to be affected by adverse personal circumstances. Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws, including bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount that can be recovered on these loans.

The Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected if its allowance for loan losses is not sufficient to absorb actual losses.

 

There is no precise method of predicting loan losses. The Corporation can give no assurance that its allowance for loan losses is or will be sufficient to absorb actual loan losses. Excess loan losses could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations. The Corporation attempts to maintain an appropriate allowance for loan losses to provide for estimated losses inherent in its loan portfolio as of the reporting date. The Corporation periodically determines the amount of its allowance for loan losses based upon consideration of several quantitative and qualitative factors including, but not limited to, the following:

 

 

For additional discussion relating to this matter, refer to the Allowance and Provision for Loan Losses section of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which is included in Item 7 of this Report.

 

Changes in economic conditions and the composition of the Corporation’s loan portfolio could lead to higher loan charge-offs or an increase in the Corporation’s provision for loan losses and may reduce the Corporation’s net income.

 

Changes in national and regional economic conditions could impact the loan portfolios of the Corporation. For example, an increase in unemployment, a decrease in real estate values or increases in interest rates, as well as other factors, could weaken the economies of the communities the Corporation serves. Weakness in the market areas served by the Corporation could depress its earnings and consequently its financial condition because customers may not want or need the Corporation’s products or services; borrowers may not be able to repay their loans; the value of the collateral securing the Corporation’s loans to borrowers may decline; and the quality of the Corporation’s loan portfolio may decline. Any of the latter three scenarios could require the Corporation to charge-off a higher percentage of its loans and/or increase its provision for loan losses, which would reduce its net income.

 

The Corporation’s continued pace of growth may require it to raise additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed.

 

The Corporation is required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support its operations (see the Government Supervision and Regulation section included in Item 1 of this Report). As a financial holding company, the Corporation seeks to maintain capital sufficient to meet the “well-capitalized” standard set by regulators. The Corporation anticipates that its current capital resources will satisfy its capital requirements for the foreseeable future. The Corporation may at some point, however, need to raise additional capital to support continued growth, whether such growth occurs internally or through acquisitions.

 

The Corporation’s ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on conditions in the capital markets at that time, which are outside of the Corporation’s control, and on its financial performance. Accordingly, there can be no assurance of the Corporation’s ability to expand its operations through internal growth and acquisitions could be materially impaired.

 

The Corporation may be adversely affected by the downturn in Florida real estate markets.

 

Many Florida real estate markets, including the markets in Orlando, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Tampa, where the Corporation has loan production offices, declined in value throughout 2008 and may continue to undergo further declines. The Corporation operates five commercial loan production offices in the Florida market and is therefore exposed to the weakening real estate conditions in the Florida geographic region. During a period of prolonged general economic downturn in the Florida market, the Corporation may experience a reduction in loan

origination activity in that market and further increases in non-performing assets, net charge-offs and provisions for loan losses.

 

Recent developments in the mortgage market have increased the volatility of the Corporation’s stock price and may affect the Corporation’s ability to originate loans as well as the profitability of loans in the Corporation’s pipeline.

 

The mortgage lending industry has experienced a significant increase in delinquencies. The decline in credit quality is most noteworthy among subprime lenders. Generally, the Corporation has not originated residential mortgage loans with FICO credit scores below 620, except for a minimal number of loans that were related to the Corporation’s obligation under the CRA. Recent reports of credit quality, financial solvency and other problems among subprime lenders have increased volatility in the stock market. If the subprime segment continues to have problems in the future and/or credit quality problems spread to other industry segments, including lenders who make reduced documentation loans to prime credit quality borrowers, there could be a prolonged decrease in the demand for the Corporation’s loans in the secondary market, adversely affecting the Corporation’s earnings and negatively impacting the price of the Corporation’s common stock.

 

Loss of members of the Corporation’s executive team could have a negative impact on business.

 

The Corporation’s success is dependent, in part, on the continued service of its executive officers. The loss of the service of one or more of these executive officers could have a negative impact on the Corporation’s business because of their skills, relationships in the banking community and years of industry experience and the difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement executive officers.

 

The actions of the U.S. Government for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets, or market response to those actions, may not achieve the intended effect, and the Corporation’s results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

In response to the financial issues affecting the banking system and financial markets and going concern threats to investment banks and other financial institutions, the U.S. Congress recently enacted the EESA. The EESA provides the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury with the authority to establish the TARP to purchase from financial institutions up to $700 billion of residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before March 14, 2008, as well as any other financial instrument that the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Chairman of the FRB, determines the purchase of which is necessary to promote financial market stability. As of the date hereof, the U.S. Treasury has determined not to purchase troubled assets under the program.

 

As part of the EESA, the U.S. Treasury has developed a CPP to purchase up to $250 billion in senior preferred stock from qualifying financial institutions. The CPP was designed to strengthen the capital and liquidity positions of viable institutions and to encourage banks and thrifts to increase lending to creditworthy borrowers. The EESA also increases the insurance coverage of deposit accounts to $250,000 per depositor. In a related action, the FDIC established a TLGP under which the FDIC provides a guarantee for newly-issued senior unsecured debt and non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts at eligible insured institutions. For non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts, a 10 basis point annual rate surcharge will be applied to deposit amounts in excess of $250,000. The Corporation has elected to participate in the CPP and has opted to participate in the TLGP.

 

The U.S. Congress or federal banking regulatory agencies could adopt additional regulatory requirements or restrictions in response to the threats to the financial system and such changes may adversely affect the operations of the Corporation and FNBPA. In addition, the EESA may not have the intended beneficial impact on the financial markets or the banking industry. To the extent the market does not respond favorably to the TARP or the program does not function as intended, the Corporation’s prospects and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Because of the Corporation’s participation in U.S. Treasury’s CPP, the Corporation is subject to several restrictions including restrictions on its ability to declare or pay dividends and repurchase its shares as well as restrictions on its executive compensation.

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement with the U.S. Treasury, the Corporation’s ability to declare or pay dividends on any of its shares is limited. Specifically, the Corporation is unable to declare dividend payments on common, junior preferred or pari passu preferred shares if it is in arrears on the dividends on the Series C preferred stock. Further, without U.S. Treasury approval, the Corporation is not permitted to increase the quarterly rate of dividends on its common stock to more than $0.24 per share until the third anniversary of the investment unless all of the Series C preferred stock has been redeemed or transferred by U.S. Treasury. In addition, the Corporation’s ability to repurchase its shares is restricted. The consent of the U.S. Treasury generally is required for the Corporation to make any stock repurchase until the third anniversary of the investment by U.S. Treasury unless all of the Series C preferred stock has been redeemed or transferred by U.S. Treasury to a third party. Further, common, junior preferred or pari passu preferred shares may not be repurchased if the Corporation is in arrears on the Series C preferred stock dividends.

 

In addition, pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Corporation adopted the U.S. Treasury’s standards for executive compensation and corporate governance for the period during which the U.S. Treasury holds the equity issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, including the common stock which may be issued pursuant to the warrant. These standards generally apply to the Corporation’s CEO, CFO and the three next most highly compensated senior executive officers. The standards include (1) ensuring that incentive compensation for senior executives does not encourage unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the financial institution; (2) required clawback of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive based on statements of earnings, gains or other criteria that are later proven to be materially inaccurate; (3) prohibition on making golden parachute payments to senior executives; and (4) agreement not to deduct for tax purposes executive compensation in excess of $500,000 for each senior executive. In particular, the change to the deductibility limit on executive compensation may increase the overall cost of the Corporation’s compensation programs in future periods.

 

The executive compensation and corporate governance restrictions will apply so long as the U.S. Treasury owns any of the Corporation’s debt or equity securities acquired in connection with the transactions described herein, including the Series C preferred stock, the warrant or any shares of the Corporation’s common stock issued upon exercise of the warrant. Accordingly, the Corporation could be subject to these restrictions for an indefinite period of time. Further, the Securities Purchase Agreement and all related documents may be amended unilaterally by the U.S. Treasury to the extent required to comply with any changes to the applicable federal statutes. Any such amendments may provide for additional executive compensation and corporate governance standards or modify the existing standards set forth above.

 

The Corporation’s status as a holding company makes it dependent on dividends from its subsidiaries to meet its financial obligations and pay dividends to shareholders.

 

The Corporation is a holding company and conducts almost all of its operations through its subsidiaries. The Corporation does not have any significant assets other than the stock of its subsidiaries. Accordingly, the Corporation depends on dividends from its subsidiaries to meet its financial obligations and to pay dividends to shareholders. The Corporation’s right to participate in any distribution of earnings or assets of its subsidiaries is subject to the prior claims of creditors of such subsidiaries. Under federal law, FNBPA is limited in the amount of dividends it may pay to the Corporation without prior regulatory approval. Also, bank regulators have the authority to prohibit FNBPA from paying dividends if the bank regulators determine FNBPA is in an unsound or unsafe condition or that the payment would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice. As a participant in the CPP, the Corporation may not pay dividends except as permitted by the Securities Purchase Agreement and the other operative documents evidencing the investment of the U.S. Treasury in the Corporation.

The Corporation’s financial condition may be adversely affected if it is unable to attract sufficient deposits to fund its anticipated loan growth.

 

The Corporation funds its loan growth primarily through deposits. To the extent that the Corporation is unable to attract and maintain sufficient levels of deposits to fund its loan growth, the Corporation would be required to raise additional funds through public or private financings. The Corporation can give no assurance that it would be able to obtain these funds on terms that are favorable to the Corporation.

 

The Corporation’s results of operations may be adversely affected if asset valuations cause other-than-temporary impairment or goodwill impairment charges.

 

The Corporation may be required to record future impairment charges on its investment securities if they suffer declines in value that are considered other-than-temporary. Numerous factors, including lack of liquidity for re-sales of certain investment securities, absence of reliable pricing information for investment securities, adverse changes in business climate, adverse actions by regulators, or unanticipated changes in the competitive environment could have a negative effect on the Corporation’s investment portfolio in future periods. If an impairment charge is significant enough it could affect the ability of FNBPA to upstream dividends to the Corporation, which could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s liquidity and its ability to pay dividends to shareholders and could also negatively impact its regulatory capital ratios and result in FNBPA not being classified as “well-capitalized” for regulatory purposes.

 

The Corporation’s controls and procedures may fail or be circumvented.

 

Management regularly reviews and updates the Corporation’s internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies and procedures. However, any system of controls, even those well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. Any failure or circumvention of the Corporation’s controls and procedures or failure to comply with regulations related to controls and procedures could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

The Corporation could experience significant difficulties and complications in connection with its growth and acquisition strategy.

 

The Corporation has grown significantly through acquisitions over the last few years and may seek to continue to grow by acquiring financial institutions and branches as well as non-depository entities engaged in permissible activities for its financial institution subsidiaries. However, the market for acquisitions is highly competitive. The Corporation may not be as successful in the future as it has been in the past in identifying financial institution and branch acquisition candidates, integrating acquired institutions or preventing deposit erosion at acquired institutions or branches.

 

As part of its acquisition strategy, the Corporation may acquire additional banks and non-bank entities that it believes provide a strategic fit with its business. To the extent that the Corporation is successful with this strategy, there can be no assurance that the Corporation will be able to manage this growth adequately and profitably. For example, acquiring any bank or non-bank entity will involve risks commonly associated with acquisitions, including:

 

 

In addition to acquisitions, FNBPA may expand into additional communities or attempt to strengthen its position in its current markets by undertaking additional de novo branch openings or establishing additional loan

production offices. Based on experience, the Corporation believes that it generally takes up to three years for new banking facilities to achieve operational profitability due to the impact of organizational and overhead expenses and the start-up phase of generating loans and deposits. To the extent that FNBPA undertakes additional de novo branch openings or establishes additional loan production offices, FNBPA is likely to continue to experience the effects of higher operating expenses relative to operating income from the new banking facilities, which may have an adverse effect on the Corporation’s net income, earnings per share, return on average equity and return on average assets.

 

The Corporation may encounter unforeseen expenses, as well as difficulties and complications in integrating expanded operations and new employees without disruption to its overall operations. Following each acquisition, the Corporation must expend substantial resources to integrate the entities. The integration of non-banking entities often involves combining different industry cultures and business methodologies. The failure to integrate successfully the entities the Corporation acquires into its existing operations may adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition.

 

The Corporation could be adversely affected by changes in the law, especially changes in the regulation of the banking industry.

 

The Corporation and its subsidiaries operate in a highly regulated environment and are subject to supervision and regulation by several governmental agencies, including the FRB, the OCC and the FDIC. Regulations are generally intended to provide protection for depositors, borrowers and other customers rather than for investors. The Corporation is subject to changes in federal and state law, regulations, governmental policies, tax laws and accounting principles. Changes in regulations or the regulatory environment could adversely affect the banking and financial services industry as a whole and could limit the Corporation’s growth and the return to investors by restricting such activities as:

 

 

In addition, legislation may change present capital and other regulatory requirements, which could restrict the Corporation’s activities and require the Corporation to raise additional capital. Further, the Securities Purchase Agreement and all related documents that the Corporation entered into in connection with the CPP may be amended unilaterally by the U.S. Treasury to the extent required to comply with any changes to the applicable federal statutes. Any such amendment may impose additional restrictions or obligations on the Corporation.

 

The Corporation’s results of operations could be adversely affected due to significant competition.

 

The Corporation faces substantial competition in all areas of its operations from a variety of different competitors. The Corporation may not be able to compete effectively in its markets, which could adversely affect the Corporation’s results of operations. The banking and financial services industry in each of the Corporation’s market areas is highly competitive. The competitive environment is a result of:

 

 

The Corporation competes for loans, deposits and customers with various bank and non-bank financial service providers, many of which are larger in terms of total assets and capitalization, have greater access to the capital markets and offer a broader array of financial services than the Corporation. Competition with such

institutions may cause the Corporation to increase its deposit rates or decrease its interest rate spread on loans it originates.

 

Adverse economic conditions in the Corporation’s market area may adversely impact its results of operations and financial condition.

 

The substantial portion of the Corporation’s historical business is concentrated in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, which over recent years has become a slower growth market than other areas of the United States. As a result, FNBPA’s loan portfolio and results of operations may be adversely affected by factors that have a significant impact on the economic conditions in this market area. The local economies of this market area have historically been less robust than the economy of the nation as a whole and may not be subject to the same fluctuations as the national economy. Adverse economic conditions in this market area, including the loss of certain significant employers, could reduce its growth rate, affect its borrowers’ ability to repay their loans and generally affect the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, a downturn in real estate values in FNBPA’s market area could cause many of its loans to become inadequately collateralized.

 

Recent negative developments in the financial industry and the domestic and international credit markets may adversely affect the Corporation’s operations and stock price.

 

Negative developments in the latter half of 2007 and 2008 in the subprime mortgage market and the securitization markets for such loans have resulted in uncertainty in the financial markets in general with the expectation of the general economic downturn continuing well into 2009. As a result of this “credit crunch,” commercial as well as consumer loan portfolio performances have deteriorated at many institutions and the competition for deposits and quality loans has increased significantly. In addition, the values of real estate collateral supporting many commercial loans and home mortgages have declined and may continue to decline. Bank and bank holding company stock prices have been negatively affected, and the ability of banks and bank holding companies to raise capital or borrow in the debt markets has become more difficult compared to recent years. As a result, there is a potential for new federal or state laws and regulations regarding lending and funding practices and liquidity standards, and bank regulatory agencies are expected to be very aggressive in responding to concerns and trends identified in developments in the financial industry and the domestic and international credit markets, and the impact of new legislation in response to those developments, may negatively impact the Corporation’s operations by restricting its business operations, including its ability to originate or sell loans, and adversely impact the Corporation’s financial performance or stock price.

 

The Corporation’s deposit insurance premiums could be substantially higher in the future which would have an adverse effect on the Corporation’s future earnings.

 

The FDIC insures deposits at FDIC-insured financial institutions, including FNBPA. The FDIC charges the insured financial institutions premiums to maintain the Deposit Insurance Fund at a certain level. Current economic conditions have increased bank failures and expectations for further failures, in which case the FDIC would pay all deposits of a failed bank up to the insured amount from the Deposit Insurance Fund. In December 2008, the FDIC adopted a rule that would increase premiums paid by insured institutions and make other changes to the assessment system. Increases in deposit insurance premiums could adversely affect the Corporation’s net income.

 

Concern of customers over deposit insurance may cause a decrease in deposits at the Corporation.

 

With recent increased concerns about bank failures, customers increasingly are concerned about the extent to which their deposits are insured by the FDIC. Customers may withdraw deposits in an effort to ensure that the amount they have on deposit with the Corporation is fully insured. Decreases in deposits may adversely affect the Corporation’s funding costs and net income.

The Corporation’s information systems may experience an interruption or breach in security.

 

The Corporation relies heavily on communications and information systems to conduct its business. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in the Corporation’s customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan and other systems. Although the Corporation has policies and procedures designed to prevent or limit the effect of the failure, interruption or security breach of these information systems, there can be no assurance that any such failures, interruptions or security breaches will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed. The occurrence of any failures, interruptions or security breaches of the Corporation’s information systems could damage its reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject it to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose it to civil litigation and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.

 

The Corporation’s business and financial performance could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by natural disasters, terrorist activities or international hostilities.

 

The likelihood or impact of natural disasters, terrorist activities, pandemics and international hostilities cannot be predicted. However, an event resulting from any of these threats could impact the Corporation directly (for example, by causing significant damage to its facilities or preventing it from conducting its business in the ordinary course), or could impact the Corporation indirectly through a direct impact on its borrowers, depositors, other customers, suppliers or other counterparties. The Corporation also could suffer adverse consequences to the extent that natural disasters, terrorist activities or international hostilities affect the economy and financial and capital markets generally. These types of impacts could lead, for example, to an increase in delinquencies, bankruptcies or defaults that could result in the Corporation experiencing higher levels of non-performing assets, net charge-offs and provisions for loan losses.

 

The Corporation’s ability to mitigate the adverse consequences of such occurrences is, in part, dependent on the quality of its contingency planning, including its ability to anticipate the nature of any such event that occurs. The adverse impact of natural disasters or terrorist activities also could be increased to the extent that there is a lack of preparedness on the part of national or regional emergency responders or on the part of other organizations and businesses with which the Corporation deals, particularly those on which it depends.

 

Certain provisions of the Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and By-laws and Florida law may discourage takeovers.

 

The Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and By-laws contain certain anti-takeover provisions that may discourage or may make more difficult or expensive a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that is opposed by the Corporation’s Board of Directors. In particular, the Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and By-laws:

 

 

Under Florida law, the approval of a business combination with a stockholder owning 10% or more of the voting shares of a corporation requires the vote of holders of at least two-thirds of the voting shares not owned by such stockholder, unless the transaction is approved by a majority of the corporation’s disinterested directors. In addition, Florida law generally provides that shares of a corporation that are acquired in excess of certain specified

thresholds will not possess any voting rights unless the voting rights are approved by a majority of the corporation’s disinterested stockholders.

 

These provisions of the Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and By-laws and of Florida law could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control, even though a majority of the Corporation’s stockholders may consider such proposals desirable. Such provisions could also make it more difficult for third parties to remove and replace members of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. Moreover, these provisions could diminish the opportunities for stockholders to participate in certain tender offers, including tender offers at prices above the then-current market price of the Corporation’s common stock, and may also inhibit increases in the trading price of the Corporation’s common stock that could result from takeover attempts.

 

The Corporation may not be able to continue to attract and retain skilled people.

 

The Corporation’s success depends, in large part, on its ability to continue to attract and retain key people. Competition for the best people in most activities engaged in by the Corporation can be intense and the Corporation may not be able to hire people or to retain them. The unexpected loss of services of one or more of the Corporation’s key personnel could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s business because of their skills, knowledge of the Corporation’s market, years of industry experience and the difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement personnel.

 

The Corporation is exposed to risk of environmental liabilities with respect to properties to which it takes title.

 

Portions of the Corporation’s loan portfolio are secured by real property. In the course of its business, the Corporation may own or foreclose and take title to real estate, and could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these properties. The Corporation may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs incurred by these parties in connection with environmental contamination, or may be required to investigate or clean up hazardous or toxic substances, or chemical releases at a property. The costs associated with investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. In addition, as the owner or former owner of a contaminated site, the Corporation may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. If the Corporation ever becomes subject to significant environmental liabilities, the Corporation’s business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

If the Corporation is unable to redeem the Series C preferred stock after five years, its cost of capital will increase substantially.

 

If the Corporation is unable to redeem the Series C preferred stock prior to January 9, 2014, the cost of this capital will increase substantially on that date, from 5% per annum to 9% per annum. Depending on the Corporation’s financial condition at the time, this increase in the annual dividend rate on the Series C preferred stock could have a material negative effect on its liquidity.

 

The Securities Purchase Agreement between the Corporation and the U.S. Treasury limits the Corporation’s ability to pay dividends on and repurchase its common stock.

 

The Purchase Agreement between the Corporation and the U.S. Treasury provides that prior to the earlier of (i) January 9, 2012 and (ii) the date on which all of the shares of the Series C preferred stock have been redeemed by the Corporation or transferred by the U.S. Treasury to third parties, the Corporation may not, without the consent of the U.S. Treasury, (a) increase the quarterly rate of cash dividends on its common stock to more than $0.24 per share or (b) subject to limited exceptions, redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire shares of its common stock or preferred stock other than the Series C preferred stock or trust preferred securities. In addition, the Corporation is unable to pay any dividends on its common stock unless it is current in its dividend payments on the Series C preferred stock. These restrictions could have a negative effect on the value of the Corporation’s common stock. Moreover, holders of the Corporation’s common stock are entitled to receive dividends only when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors. Although the Corporation has historically paid cash dividends on its common

stock, it is not required to do so and its Board of Directors could reduce or eliminate its common stock dividend in the future.

 

The Series C preferred stock reduces the net income available to the Corporation’s common stockholders and earnings per common share, and the warrant the Corporation issued to the U.S. Treasury may be dilutive to holders of the Corporation’s common stock.

 

The dividends declared and the accretion of discount on the Series C preferred stock will reduce the net income available to common stockholders and the Corporation’s earnings per common share. Additionally, the ownership interest of the existing holders of the Corporation’s common stock will be diluted to the extent the warrant is exercised. The shares of common stock underlying the warrant represent approximately 1.5% of the shares of the Corporation’s common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2008. Although the U.S. Treasury has agreed not to vote any of the shares of common stock it receives upon exercise of the warrant, a transferee of any portion of the warrant or of any shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of the warrant is not bound by this restriction.

 

 

NONE.

 

 

The Corporation owns a six-story building in Hermitage, Pennsylvania that serves as its headquarters, executive and administrative offices. It shares this facility with Community Banking and Wealth Management.

 

The Community Banking offices are located in 24 counties in Pennsylvania and 4 counties in Ohio. Community Banking also has commercial loan production offices located in 5 counties in Florida and one county in Pennsylvania and a mortgage loan production office located in one county in Tennessee. Wealth Management operates in existing Community Banking offices. The Consumer Finance offices are located in 17 counties in Pennsylvania, 16 counties in Tennessee and 13 counties in Ohio. The Insurance offices are located in 6 counties in Pennsylvania. At December 31, 2008, the Corporation’s subsidiaries owned 169 of the Corporation’s properties and leased 126 properties under operating leases expiring at various dates through the year 2046. For additional information regarding the lease commitments, see the Premises and Equipment footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report.

 

 

The Corporation and its subsidiaries are involved in various pending and threatened legal proceedings in which claims for monetary damages and other relief are asserted. These actions include claims brought against the Corporation and its subsidiaries where the Corporation acted as one or more of the following: a depository bank, lender, underwriter, fiduciary, financial advisor, broker or was engaged in other business activities. Although the ultimate outcome for any asserted claim cannot be predicted with certainty, the Corporation believes that it and its subsidiaries have valid defenses for all asserted claims. Reserves are established for legal claims when losses associated with the claims are judged to be probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated.

 

Based on information currently available, advice of counsel, available insurance coverage and established reserves, the Corporation does not anticipate, at the present time, that the aggregate liability, if any, arising out of such legal proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s consolidated financial position. However, the Corporation cannot determine whether or not any claims asserted against it will have a material adverse effect on its consolidated results of operations in any future reporting period. It is possible, in the event of unexpected future developments, that the ultimate resolution of these matters, if unfavorable, may have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s consolidated results of operations for a particular period.

 

 

NONE.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

 

The name, age, position with the Corporation and principal occupation for the last five years of each of the executive officers of the Corporation as of December 31, 2008 is set forth below:

 

 

There are no family relationships among any of the above executive officers, and there is no arrangement or understanding between any of the above executive officers and any other person pursuant to which he was selected as an officer. The executive officers are elected by and serve at the pleasure of the Corporation’s Board of Directors.

 

As previously disclosed in the Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 11, 2009, the Board of Directors of the Corporation appointed Stephen J. Gurgovits, who served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation from 2004 to 2008, to serve in those positions on an interim basis following the resignation of Robert V. New, Jr. as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Corporation.

 

 

The Corporation’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “FNB.” The accompanying table shows the range of high and low sales prices per share of the common stock as reported by the NYSE for 2008 and 2007. The table also shows dividends per share paid on the outstanding common stock during those periods. As of January 31, 2009, there were 12,664 holders of record of the Corporation’s common stock.

 

 

The information required by this Item 5 with respect to securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans is set forth in Part III, Item 12 of this Report.

 

The Corporation did not purchase any of its own equity securities during the fourth quarter of 2008.

 

The Corporation’s ability to make future payments of dividends on its common stock may be materially limited by the provisions of the Securities Purchase Agreement and the operative documents that the Corporation entered into in connection with the CPP. See Item 1A, Risk Factors, for additional information.

STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH

 

Comparison of Total Return on F.N.B. Corporation’s Common Stock with Certain Averages

 

The following five-year performance graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return (assuming reinvestment of dividends) on the Corporation’s common stock (u) to the NASDAQ Bank Index (n) and the Russell 2000 Index (5). This stock performance graph assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2003, and the cumulative return is measured as of each subsequent fiscal year end.

 

F.N.B. Corporation Five-Year Stock Performance

Total Return, Including Stock and Cash Dividends

 

Dollars in thousands, except per share data

 

QUARTERLY EARNINGS SUMMARY (Unaudited)

Dollars in thousands, except per share data

 

 

 

Management’s discussion and analysis represents an overview of the consolidated results of operations and financial condition of the Corporation. This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes presented in Item 8 of this Report. Results of operations for the periods included in this review are not necessarily indicative of results to be obtained during any future period.

 

Important Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

Certain statements in this Report are “forward-looking” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “target,” “plan,” “project” or “continue” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or similar terminology, and are made on the basis of management’s current plans and analyses of the Corporation, its business and the industry in which it operates as a whole. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, competition, interest rate sensitivity and exposure to regulatory and legislative changes. The above factors in some cases have affected, and in the future could affect, the Corporation’s financial performance and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Corporation does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized.

 

Application of Critical Accounting Policies

 

The Corporation’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Application of these principles requires management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates, assumptions and judgments are based on information available as of the date of the consolidated financial statements; accordingly, as this information changes, the consolidated financial statements could reflect different estimates, assumptions and judgments. Certain policies inherently are based to a greater extent on estimates, assumptions and judgments of management and, as such, have a greater possibility of producing results that could be materially different than originally reported.

 

The most significant accounting policies followed by the Corporation are presented in the Summary of Significant Accounting Policies footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report. These policies, along with the disclosures presented in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, provide information on how significant assets and liabilities are valued in the consolidated financial statements and how those values are determined.

 

Management views critical accounting policies to be those which are highly dependent on subjective or complex judgments, estimates and assumptions, and where changes in those estimates and assumptions could have a significant impact on the consolidated financial statements. Management currently views the determination of the allowance for loan losses, securities valuation, goodwill and other intangible assets and income taxes to be critical accounting policies.

 

Allowance for Loan Losses

 

The allowance for loan losses addresses credit losses inherent in the existing loan portfolio and is presented as a reserve against loans on the consolidated balance sheet. Loan losses are charged off against the allowance for loan losses, with recoveries of amounts previously charged off credited to the allowance for loan losses. Provisions for loan losses are charged to operations based on management’s periodic evaluation of the adequacy of the allowance.

 

Estimating the amount of the allowance for loan losses is based to a significant extent on the judgment and estimates of management regarding the amount and timing of expected future cash flows on impaired loans,

estimated losses on pools of homogeneous loans based on historical loss experience and consideration of current economic trends and conditions, all of which may be susceptible to significant change.

 

Management’s assessment of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses considers individual impaired loans, pools of homogeneous loans with similar risk characteristics and other risk factors concerning the economic environment. The allowance established for individual impaired loans reflects expected losses resulting from analyses developed through specific credit allocations for individual loans. The specific credit allocations are based on regular analyses of all loans over a fixed dollar amount where the internal credit rating is at or below a predetermined classification. These analyses involve a high degree of judgment in estimating the amount of loss associated with specific impaired loans, including estimating the amount and timing of future cash flows, current market value of the loan and collateral values. Independent loan review results are evaluated and considered in estimating reserves as well as other qualitative risk factors that may affect the loan. The evaluation of this component of the allowance requires considerable judgment in order to estimate inherent loss exposures.

 

Pools of homogeneous loans with similar risk characteristics are also assessed for probable losses. A loss migration and historical charge-off analysis is performed quarterly and loss factors are updated regularly based on actual experience. This analysis examines historical loss experience, the related internal ratings of loans charged off and considers inherent but undetected losses within the portfolio. Inherent but undetected losses may arise due to uncertainties in economic conditions, delays in obtaining information, including unfavorable information about a borrower’s financial condition, the difficulty in identifying triggering events that correlate to subsequent loss rates and risk factors that have not yet manifested themselves in loss allocation factors. The Corporation has grown through acquisitions and expanding the geographic footprint in which it operates. As a result, historical loss experience data used to establish loss estimates may not precisely correspond to the current portfolio. Also, loss data representing a complete economic cycle is not available for all sectors. Uncertainty surrounding the strength and timing of economic cycles also affects estimates of loss. The historical loss experience used in the migration and historical charge-off analysis may not be representative of actual unrealized losses inherent in the portfolio.

 

Management also evaluates the impact of various qualitative factors which pose additional risks that may not adequately be addressed in the analyses described above. Such factors could include: levels of, and trends in, consumer bankruptcies, delinquencies, impaired loans, charge-offs and recoveries; trends in volume and terms of loans; effects of any changes in lending policies and procedures, including those for underwriting, collection, charge-off and recovery; experience, ability and depth of lending management and staff; national and local economic trends and conditions; industry and geographic conditions; concentrations of credit such as, but not limited to, local industries, their employees or suppliers; or any other common risk factor that might affect loss experience across one or more components of the portfolio. The determination of this component of the allowance is particularly dependent on the judgment of management.

 

There are many factors affecting the allowance for loan losses; some are quantitative, while others require qualitative judgment. Although management believes its process for determining the allowance adequately considers all of the factors that could potentially result in credit losses, the process includes subjective elements and may be susceptible to significant change. To the extent actual outcomes differ from management estimates, additional provisions for loan losses could be required that could adversely affect the Corporation’s earnings or financial position in future periods.

 

The Allowance and Provision for Loan Losses section of this financial review includes a discussion of the factors driving changes in the allowance for loan losses during the current period.

 

Securities Valuation

 

Investment securities, which consist of debt securities and certain equity securities, comprise a significant portion of the Corporation’s consolidated balance sheet. Such securities can be classified as “Trading,” “Securities Held to Maturity” or “Securities Available for Sale.” As of December 31, 2008 and 2007, the Corporation did not hold any trading securities.

Securities held to maturity are comprised of debt securities, which were purchased with management’s positive intent and ability to hold such securities until their maturity. Such securities are carried at cost, adjusted for related amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts through interest income from securities.

 

Securities that are not classified as trading or held to maturity are classified as available for sale. The Corporation’s available for sale securities portfolio is comprised of debt securities and marketable equity securities. Such securities are carried at fair value with net unrealized gains and losses deemed to be temporary reported separately as a component of other comprehensive income, net of tax. Realized gains and losses on the sale of available for sale securities and other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) charges are recorded within non-interest income in the consolidated statement of income. Realized gains and losses on the sale of securities are determined using the specific-identification method.

 

The investment securities portfolio is evaluated for OTTI on a quarterly basis. Impairment is assessed at the individual security level. An investment security is considered impaired if the fair value of the security is less than its cost or amortized cost basis.

 

The Corporation’s OTTI evaluation process is performed in a consistent and systematic manner and includes an evaluation of all available evidence. Documentation of the process is extensive as necessary to support a conclusion as to whether a decline in fair value below cost or amortized cost is other-than-temporary and includes documentation supporting both observable and unobservable inputs and a rationale for conclusions reached.

 

This process considers factors such as the severity, length of time and anticipated recovery period of the impairment, recent events specific to the issuer, including investment downgrades by rating agencies and economic conditions of its industry, and the issuer’s financial condition, capital strength and near-term prospects. The Corporation also considers its intent and ability to retain the security for a period of time sufficient to allow for a recovery in fair value, or until maturity. Among the factors that are considered in determining the Corporation’s intent and ability to retain the security is a review of its capital adequacy, interest rate risk position and liquidity.

 

The assessment of a security’s ability to recover any decline in fair value, the ability of the issuer to meet contractual obligations, and the Corporation’s intent and ability to retain the security require considerable judgment.

 

Debt securities with credit ratings below AA at the time of purchase that are repayment-sensitive securities are evaluated using the guidance of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement (FAS) 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities and the related guidance of Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) 99-20, Recognition of Interest Income and Impairment on Purchased Beneficial Interests and Beneficial Interests That Continue to Be Held by a Transferor in Securitized Financial Assets, as amended by FASB Staff Position (FSP) EITF 99-20-1. All other securities are required to be evaluated under FAS 115 and related implementation guidance.

 

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

 

As a result of acquisitions, the Corporation has acquired goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. Goodwill represents the cost of acquired companies in excess of the fair value of net assets, including identifiable intangible assets, at the acquisition date. The Corporation’s recorded goodwill relates to value inherent in its Community Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance segments.

 

The value of goodwill and other identifiable intangibles is dependent upon the Corporation’s ability to provide quality, cost-effective services in the face of competition. As such, these values are supported ultimately by revenue that is driven by the volume of business transacted. A decline in earnings as a result of a lack of growth or the Corporation’s inability to deliver cost effective services over sustained periods can lead to impairment in value which could result in additional expense and adversely impact earnings in future periods.

 

Other identifiable intangible assets such as core deposit intangibles and customer and renewal lists are amortized over their estimated useful lives.

 

The two-step impairment test is used to identify potential goodwill impairment and measure the amount of impairment loss to be recognized, if any. The first step compares the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying

amount. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is considered not impaired and the second step of the test is not necessary. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step is performed to measure impairment loss, if any. Under the second step, the fair value is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit to determine an implied goodwill value. This allocation is similar to a purchase price allocation performed in purchase accounting. If the implied goodwill value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying amount of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

 

Determining fair values of a reporting unit, of its individual assets and liabilities, and also of other identifiable intangible assets requires considering market information that is publicly available as well as the use of significant estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions could have a significant impact on whether or not an impairment charge is recognized and also the magnitude of any such charge. Inputs used in determining fair values where significant estimates and assumptions are necessary include discounted cash flow calculations, market comparisons and recent transactions, projected future cash flows, discount rates reflecting the risk inherent in future cash flows, growth rates and determination and evaluation of appropriate market comparables.

 

The Corporation performed an annual test of goodwill and other intangibles as of September 30, 2008, and concluded that the recorded values were not impaired. Additionally, due to market conditions surrounding the banking industry, the Corporation updated its impairment analysis as of December 31, 2008, and concluded that the recorded values were not impaired.

 

The Corporation’s total goodwill at December 31, 2008 was $528.3 million, of which $509.2 million relates to the Corporation’s Community Banking segment. The estimated fair value of this reporting unit is based on valuation techniques that the Corporation believes market participants would use including peer company price-to-earnings and price-to-book multiples. During the fourth quarter of 2008, the financial services industry and securities markets generally were adversely affected by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes. If current economic conditions continue resulting in a prolonged period of economic weakness, the Corporation’s business segments, including the Community Banking segment, may be adversely affected, which may result in impairment of goodwill and other intangibles in the future. As of December 31, 2008, a decline of greater than 15.4% in the estimated fair value of the Community Banking segment may result in recorded goodwill being impaired. Any resulting impairment loss could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s financial condition and its results of operations.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Corporation is subject to the income tax laws of the U.S., its states and other jurisdictions where it conducts business. The laws are complex and subject to different interpretations by the taxpayer and various taxing authorities. In determining the provision for income taxes, management must make judgments and estimates about the application of these inherently complex tax statutes, related regulations and case law. In the process of preparing the Corporation’s tax returns, management attempts to make reasonable interpretations of the tax laws. These interpretations are subject to challenge by the taxing authorities based on audit results or to change based on management’s ongoing assessment of the facts and evolving case law.

 

The Corporation establishes a valuation allowance when it is “more likely than not” that the Corporation will not be able to realize a benefit from its deferred tax assets, or when future deductibility is uncertain. Periodically, the valuation allowance is reviewed and adjusted based on management’s assessments of realizable deferred tax assets.

 

On a quarterly basis, management assesses the reasonableness of the Corporation’s effective tax rate based on management’s current best estimate of net income and the applicable taxes for the full year. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are assessed on an annual basis, or sooner, if business events or circumstances warrant.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements and Developments

 

The New Accounting Standards footnote in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report, discusses new accounting pronouncements adopted by the Corporation in 2008

and the expected impact of accounting pronouncements recently issued or proposed but not yet required to be adopted.

 

Financial Overview

 

The Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. Its primary businesses include community banking, consumer finance, wealth management and insurance. The Corporation also conducts leasing and merchant banking activities. The Corporation operates its community banking business through a full service branch network with offices in Pennsylvania and Ohio and loan production offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. The Corporation operates its wealth management and insurance businesses within the community banking branch network. It also conducts selected consumer finance business in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Tennessee.

 

On April 1, 2008, the Corporation completed the acquisition of Omega, a diversified financial services company with $1.8 billion in assets, and on August 16, 2008, the Corporation completed the acquisition of IRGB, a bank holding company with $301.7 million in assets. The assets and liabilities of each of these acquired companies were recorded on the Corporation’s balance sheet at their fair values as of each of the acquisition dates, and their results of operations have been included in the Corporation’s consolidated statement of income since then.

 

The economic environment made 2008 another challenging year for the banking industry, particularly in the lending business. The Corporation’s practice of conservative underwriting has helped it to substantially avoid the types of losses from certain loans, such as subprime residential mortgages, which have recently impacted other financial institutions. As a result of the challenging economic environment, the Corporation took decisive action to build its loan loss reserve to address the Florida loan portfolio. Additionally, the Corporation demonstrated its capability to win business in its marketplace by realizing some organic growth in loans, deposits and treasury management accounts in the challenging economic environment.

 

During 2008, the Corporation recorded total impairment charges of $20.6 million. These impairment charges consisted of $16.0 million related to investments in pooled trust preferred securities, $1.2 million related to investments in bank stocks and $3.4 million related to investments made by the Corporation’s merchant banking subsidiary.

 

The Corporation’s investments in pooled trust preferred securities had a cost basis of $40.6 million and a fair value of $17.9 million as of December 31, 2008. This portfolio consists of 13 securities representing interests in various trusts collateralized by debt issued by over 500 financial institutions. Management has concluded that it is probable that there has been an adverse change in estimated cash flows for eight of the 13 securities, which management deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. This conclusion is based on the trend in new deferrals by the underlying issuing banks and the expectation for additional deferrals and defaults in the future, negative changes in credit ratings, whether the security is currently deferring interest on the tranche that the Corporation owns and expected continued weakness in the U.S. economy. These eight securities were written down to $10.5 million, or 39.6% of the $26.4 million cost basis. After the impairment write-downs, the Corporation held 13 pooled trust preferred securities with an adjusted cost basis of $24.6 million and a fair value of $17.9 million as of December 31, 2008.

 

The $1.2 million OTTI charge for bank stocks relates to securities that have been in an unrealized loss position for between three and 12 months. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, management has deemed these impairments to be other than temporary given the low likelihood that they will recover in value in the foreseeable future. At year end, the Corporation held 31 bank stocks with an adjusted cost basis of $3.6 million and a fair value of $3.5 million.

 

The impairment charge for the merchant banking subsidiary primarily relates to two investments, with $2.1 million related to a Florida-based company and $1.0 million related to a company with substantial exposure to the automobile industry. As of December 31, 2008, the portfolio of investments for the merchant banking subsidiary was $16.1 million with positions in nine companies.

Results of Operations

 

Year Ended December 31, 2008 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2007

 

Net income for 2008 was $35.6 million or $0.44 per diluted share, a decrease of $34.1 million or 48.9% from net income for 2007 of $69.7 million or $1.15 per diluted share. The decrease in net income is largely a result of an increase of $59.7 million in the provision for loan losses combined with $20.1 million of non-cash impairment charges relating to certain investments. These items are more fully discussed later in this section.

 

The Corporation’s return on average equity was 4.20%, its return on average tangible equity (net income less amortization of intangibles, net of tax, divided by average equity less average intangibles) was 10.63%, its return on average assets was 0.46% and its return on average tangible assets (net income less amortization of intangibles, net of tax, divided by average assets less average intangibles) was 0.55% for 2008, as compared to 12.89%, 26.23%, 1.15% and 1.25%, respectively, for 2007.

The following table provides information regarding the average balances and yields earned on interest earning assets and the average balances and rates paid on interest bearing liabilities (dollars in thousands):

 

 

 

Net Interest Income

 

Net interest income, which is the Corporation’s major source of revenue, is the difference between interest income from earning assets (loans, securities and federal funds sold) and interest expense paid on liabilities (deposits, treasury management accounts and short- and long-term borrowings). In 2008, net interest income, which comprised 74.5% of net revenue (net interest income plus non-interest income) as compared to 70.5% in 2007, was affected by the general level of interest rates, changes in interest rates, the shape of the yield curve and changes in the amount and mix of interest earning assets and interest bearing liabilities.

 

Net interest income, on an FTE basis, increased $58.3 million or 29.2% from $199.5 million for 2007 to $257.8 million for 2008. Average interest earning assets increased $1.3 billion or 24.1% and average interest bearing liabilities increased $1.1 billion or 23.6% from 2007 due to organic loan and deposit growth and the Omega and IRGB acquisitions. The Corporation’s net interest margin increased by 15 basis points from 2007 to 3.88% for 2008 as lower yields on interest earning assets were more than offset by lower rates paid on interest bearing liabilities. Details on changes in tax equivalent net interest income attributed to changes in interest earning assets, interest bearing liabilities, yields and cost of funds can be found in the preceding table.

 

The following table sets forth certain information regarding changes in net interest income attributable to changes in the average volumes and yields earned on interest earning assets and the average volume and rates paid for interest bearing liabilities for the periods indicated (in thousands):

 

 

 

Interest income, on an FTE basis, of $415.8 million in 2008 increased by $42.3 million or 11.3% from 2007. Average interest earning assets of $6.6 billion for the 2008 grew $1.3 billion or 24.1% from the same period of 2007 primarily driven by the Omega and IRGB acquisitions which added average loans of $860.8 million and $64.5 million, respectively, in 2008. The Corporation also recognized organic average loan growth of $179.6 million

during 2008. The yield on interest earning assets decreased 72 basis points to 6.25% for 2008 reflecting changes in interest rates.

 

Interest expense of $158.0 million for 2008 decreased by $16.1 million or 9.2% from 2007. The rate paid on interest bearing liabilities decreased 95 basis points to 2.66% during 2008 reflecting changes in interest rates and a favorable shift in mix. Average interest bearing liabilities increased $1.1 billion or 23.6% to average $5.9 billion for 2008. This growth was primarily attributable to the Omega and IRGB acquisitions combined with organic growth. The Omega acquisition added $946.1 million in average depos