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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

For The Transition Period FromTo

Commission file number: 001-40711

ORANGE COUNTY BANCORP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (845) 341-5000

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

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

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐ No ⌧

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ☐ No ⌧

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 ⌧ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.0405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).   Yes ⌧ No ☐

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

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

The aggregate value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price of the common stock of $37.00 as of June 30, 2023 was $186.2 million.

As of March 20, 2024 there were 5,657,458 shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock

Documents Incorporated by Reference

The registrant incorporates by reference its definitive Proxy Statement with respect to its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days following the end of its fiscal year, into (Part III) of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and our financial performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “expect,” “attribute,” “continue,” “will,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “goal,” “target,” “outlook,” “aim,” “would,” “annualized” and “outlook,” or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

•statements of our goals, intentions and expectations;

•statements regarding our business plans, prospects, growth and operating strategies;

•statements regarding the quality of our loan and investment portfolios; and

•estimates of our risks and future costs and benefits.

These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements:

•general economic conditions, either nationally or in our market areas, that are worse than expected;

•changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses;

•our ability to access cost-effective funding;

•fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial real estate market conditions;

•demand for loans and deposits in our market area;

•our ability to implement and change our business strategies;

•competition among depository and other financial institutions;

•inflation, recession, and changes in the interest rate environment that reduce our margins or reduce the fair value of financial instruments;

•the rate of delinquencies and amounts of loans charged-off;

•fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial real estate market conditions;

•adverse changes in the securities markets;

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•fluctuations in the stock market may have a significant adverse effect on transaction fees, client activity and client investment portfolio gains and losses related to our trust and wealth management business;

•changes in laws or government regulations or policies affecting financial institutions, including changes in regulatory fees and capital requirements;

•our ability to enter new markets successfully and capitalize on growth opportunities;

•our ability to capitalize on strategic opportunities;

•our ability to successfully introduce new products and services;

•our ability to successfully integrate into our operations any assets, liabilities, customers, systems and management personnel we may acquire and our ability to realize related revenue synergies and cost savings within expected time frames, and any goodwill charges related thereto;

•our ability to retain our existing customers;

•changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits;

•changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the bank regulatory agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board;

•changes in our organization, compensation and benefit plans;

•changes in the quality or composition of our loan or investment portfolios;

•a breach in security of our information systems, including the occurrence of a cyber incident or a deficiency in cyber security;

•political instability or civil unrest;

•acts of war or terrorism or pandemics such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic;

•competition and innovation with respect to financial products and services by banks, financial institutions and non-traditional providers, including retail businesses and technology companies;

•the failure to attract and retain skilled people;

•the fiscal and monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies; and

•other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and operational factors affecting our operations, pricing, products and services described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other cautionary statements that are included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what we anticipate. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments

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or otherwise. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward- looking statements.

Further information on other factors that could affect us are included in the section captioned “Item 1A-Risk Factors.”

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) is a bank holding company incorporated under Delaware law in 2007 and headquartered in Middletown, New York. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Orange Bank & Trust Company, a New York state-chartered trust company (the “Bank”) and Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, Inc., a registered investment advisor (“HVIA”), the Company offers full- service commercial and consumer banking products and services and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments and individuals in the Lower Hudson Valley region, the New York metropolitan area and nearby markets in Connecticut and New Jersey. The Company’s main office is located at 212 Dolson Avenue, Middletown, New York 10940.

By combining the high-level personal service and relationship-based focus of a community bank with the extensive suite of financial products and services offered by our larger competitors, we believe we can capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities available in our market areas. We also offer a variety of deposit accounts to businesses and consumers, including checking accounts and a full line of municipal banking accounts. These activities, together with our 15 branch offices and one loan production office, generate a stable source of low-cost core deposits and a diverse loan portfolio with attractive risk-adjusted yields. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s assets, loans, deposits and stockholders’ equity totaled $2.5 billion, $1.7 billion, $2.0 billion and $165.4 million, respectively. Orange Bank & Trust Company’s trust department and HVIA had a combined $1.6 billion in assets under management at December 31, 2023.

As a bank holding company, the Company is subject to the supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”). We are required to file with the FRB reports and other information regarding our business operations and the business operations of our subsidiaries. As a state-chartered trust company that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, the Bank is subject to primary supervision, periodic examination and regulation by the New York State Department of Financial Services (the “NYSDFS”) and by the FRB as its primary federal regulator.

Business Segments

Business Banking. We are committed to serving as a community-oriented financial institution focused on small to medium-sized businesses, professionals, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. In addition, the Bank’s private banking service caters to the business and personal needs of high-net-worth individuals and business owners. We offer a full suite of financial products, including checking, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit and treasury management services.

The Company continues to successfully recruit seasoned lenders with expertise and proven track records in its historic and expanded operating markets. These lenders typically have long standing relationships with businesses in our local community, such as real estate developers and owners, enabling them to serve as trusted advisors across financial transactions and products.

The Company continues to enjoy particularly strong growth in its newer markets of Rockland and Westchester Counties, which offer significant growth potential as a function of market size and demographics, while Orange County continues to represent approximately 43% of the Bank’s deposits as of December 31, 2023.

Private Banking. In August 2017, following extensive research and planning, the Bank successfully launched its private banking initiative. This concierge-level service integrates and leverages all four of the Company’s core businesses — deposits, loans, asset management (through our investment adviser subsidiary HVIA) and trust and estate services — to provide dedicated, personalized attention to clients with larger, more complex banking needs who engage in significant business with us.

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Trust & Wealth Management. Through the trust department of the Bank, we offer traditional trust and administration services to local clients and have a niche focus on Special Needs Trust and Guardianship service. Founded as “Orange County Trust and Safe Deposit Company” in 1892, trust services held a prominent role among our early business lines. This has evolved in intervening years, most explicitly in a name change to Orange Bank & Trust Company in 2016, and trust services remain a vital and vibrant part of our business today. As a measure of our ongoing commitment to trust services, we hired dedicated personnel with expertise in the unique requirements of the Special Needs Trust sub-sector for oversight of the division several years ago. This has resulted in meaningful revenue growth and profitability.

We offer asset management, financial planning and wealth management services through our wholly owned subsidiary, HVIA, an SEC registered investment advisor, which we acquired in November 2012. HVIA manages investments for institutional and high-net-worth individuals, which includes endowments, pension plans and not for profits, as well as sub-advisory investments. HVIA is in the process of expanding its product capabilities and expanding third party product distribution.

We recently launched the Orange Wealth Management initiative, which combines services offered by HVIA, our private bank and trust department in a coordinated strategy for growth. We believe that there may be significant cross-selling opportunities with our high-net-worth and business clients through this new platform.

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Our History

Born of the vision of 14 founders, the Bank opened for business in May 1892 as Orange County Trust and Safe Deposit Company. In 2016 the Bank rebranded itself as Orange Bank & Trust Company to reflect its ambitions to expand in the Lower Hudson Valley region and the New York City metropolitan area. Some of the important highlights of our recent history include:

Our Market Area

We define our operating area broadly as the Lower Hudson Valley, which includes diverse and economically distinct markets. Our active banking operations are located mainly in Orange, Westchester, Rockland and Bronx Counties in New York, which we refer to as our geographic footprint. We operate 15 full-service branches and one loan production office throughout our network. While most of our business takes place in these markets, we have grown relationships with several commercial clients operating outside our regional footprint.

Since 2013, we continue to leverage knowledge and relationships developed over our long history and our commitment to customer service across a strategically expanding footprint. This was formalized with the opening of new branch locations in Westchester and Rockland Counties in 2015, and has since driven meaningful market share growth in these markets. We opened a new branch in Nanuet, located in Rockland County, during the third quarter of 2021.

While focused on driving growth across all of our markets and product lines, we believe our expanded presence in Westchester and Rockland Counties will continue to be the largest contributor to future asset growth due to the

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significant deposit base in the Lower Hudson Valley market. We view all of our recent openings and locations as natural and logical extensions for the Bank and consistent with our geographic footprint.

Our operating markets have demographic, economic and competitive dynamics that we believe are favorable to continued execution of our strategic plan:

Orange County. Orange County, located 60 miles from New York City, is an attractive and stable market. Our over 130-year-operating history in the region provides us a strong foundation for growth and low- cost deposit funding. Economic activity in the region stems from local business activity and increasing support services to the New York metropolitan area. With a population estimated as of July 1, 2023 at 407,370 and a median household income of $91,806 as of the same date, the local economy is distinct and remains somewhat insulated from economic activity in New York City and Westchester County, and includes a growing number of service, warehousing, and logistical businesses. Recent developments in the region include significant population growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as professionals relocated away from urban markets.

Westchester and Rockland Counties. Westchester and Rockland serve as our primary growth markets, and we believe their combination of size, attractive demographics, strong growth characteristics, and economic diversity provide significant opportunities to grow our business. The Westchester and Rockland market area has a diversified economy typical of suburban population centers, with the majority of employment provided by services, wholesale/retail trade, finance/ insurance/real estate and manufacturing. Services account for the largest employment sector across both counties, while wholesale/retail trade accounts for the second largest employment sector.

Westchester and Rockland Counties are large, wealthy markets with median household incomes of $114,651 and $106,173, respectively and a combined population of approximately 1,331,624, all estimated as of July 1, 2023. An unbalanced market of bigger banks, with few smaller banks, continues to provide an attractive competitive landscape that has strengthened our reputation as a leading local bank for small businesses within this market area. We believe our market share relative to our size also provides the opportunity for long-term growth.

Bronx County. The Bronx market is densely populated with 1,356,476 residents estimated as of July 1, 2023 and has maintained a diversified economy typical of most urban population centers. The majority of employment provided is by services, wholesale/retail trade and finance/ insurance/real estate with services accounting for the largest employment sector in the county. With a median household income of $47,036 estimated as of July 1, 2023, the Bronx remains home to a significant number of health care & social assistance businesses and non-profit organizations. A persistent need for housing in the region generates constant growth through demand for construction lending and refinancing activity.

Our Business Strategy

Our goal is to build the premier business bank in the Lower Hudson Valley, primarily through organic growth of our client base. We focus on small to medium sized businesses (characterized as businesses with annual revenues of less than $50 million), attorneys and other professionals, and provide a broad range of banking services to businesses, high net worth individuals, business owners and retail customers. We believe the local economies in our geographic footprint offer us significant growth opportunities we can capitalize on through our focus on personalized service, and our ability to realize greater economies of scale than smaller community banks.

Leverage our Relationships and Service Capabilities to Drive Organic Growth. From our beginning in 1892, our founders understood the Bank’s success would be closely tied to that of the communities in which we operate, and that long-term value creation would require an uncompromising commitment to service and the establishment of enduring relationships with our clients. That vision continues to drive the Company today, as we serve customers in Orange, Rockland, and Westchester Counties and the Bronx through a network of 15 branches, one loan production office and approximately 200 employees. Our core competencies include familiarity with our clients and providing the highest quality services and solutions, enabling us to attract business customers across our traditional and expanded geographic footprint. The objective is to be a trusted advisor to our clients as they build their businesses with our resources, support and advice.

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Derive Further Loan Growth Through Differentiated Service. We have consistently demonstrated our ability to generate robust loan growth and capture additional share in our operating markets. We have been able to do so based on strong client relationships and targeted development efforts. The majority of our loan growth comes from existing clients and referrals, with the latter resulting from our focus on key centers of influence in our communities, such as law firms and accounting practices. We also believe our senior management’s availability for consultation on a daily basis offers customers a quicker response time on loan applications and other transactions, as well as greater confidence that these transactions will close, than competitors, whose decisions, in some cases, are being made in distant headquarters. We believe this level of service also gives us a pricing advantage, often enabling us to obtain higher loan rates than our competitors, while still securing the business and client relationship.

Continue to Grow our Core Deposit Franchise. The strength of our deposit franchise is derived from our long-standing relationships with our clients and the strong ties we have to the markets we serve. Our deposit footprint has provided, and we believe will continue to provide, primary support for the growth of our loan portfolio. Core deposits (deposits excluding time deposits) comprise 89.1% of our total funding, with a low cost of 1.26% at and for the year ended December 31, 2023. A key element of our strategy to enhance funding sources is our cash management services, which has helped our team expand the depth and efficiency of our product offerings, and is expected to contribute to profitability, account growth, and customer retention going forward. Additionally, by continuing to broaden our suite of business services, from sophisticated cash management to enhanced commercial lending, loans and deposits grew to $1.7 billion and $2.0 billion at year end 2023, up 11.3% and 3.3%, respectively, over year end 2022. We expect this growth to continue as the Bank continues to incorporate the tools our clients need to operate more efficiently and profitably. We also believe our strong commercial and public sector relationships will supplement our retail deposit base, further enhancing deposit growth and, ultimately, continued growth of our loan portfolio. Deposits from municipalities totaled $270.1 million, or 13.3%, of our total deposits at December 31, 2023.

Continue to Build Fee-Based Business. We have built a strong foundation of fee-based revenue through our trust services and wealth management businesses. Like our core banking business, our trust and advisory services have also achieved significant recent milestones, with combined assets under management (AUM) in the two groups aggregating $1.6 billion at December 31, 2023, in spite of difficult market conditions. As we have successfully done with our banking business, we intend to continue expansion of HVIA’s services into Westchester and Rockland Counties. Additionally, our newest service, private banking, continued to grow in 2023 and now supports approximately 625 clients (an increase from 440 clients in 2022) to fully leverage the resources and capabilities of our platform. Each of our fee- based businesses is run by an experienced team and has scalable infrastructure to support additional growth with little added expense. We believe our integrated approach to client relationships, growing market position and expanded service offerings will provide significant cross selling and new business opportunities going forward.

Capitalize on Market Disruption. We intend to continue to take advantage of recent economic disruption in our operating markets, which we believe has created an environment of underbanked customers. The acquisitions of competitors in these markets continue to create opportunities to hire seasoned bankers who we believe can thrive under our business model and take advantage of customer dissatisfaction with large, less personalized banks and/or recently merged institutions. We have successfully employed this strategy in the past, hiring 37 experienced bankers from merged institutions and acquiring HVIA from Provident New York Bancorp in 2012.

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We believe the ongoing reduction in the number of locally-managed community banks provides the opportunity for us to offer sophisticated banking products and services targeting small and middle market businesses, to expand our customer base, increase assets, and enhance profitability.

Strategic Expansion. While Orange County remains our home, ongoing investments in Rockland, Westchester and Bronx Counties continue to be significant drivers of our growth and profitability. Most recently, we entered the Nanuet market with a Rockland County branch location during third quarter 2021. The exploration of new opportunities for expansion will remain a key initiative within the Company’s strategy.

Engage in Opportunistic M&A. We are currently focused on organic growth in our geographic markets and have no current plans or arrangements for acquisitions. We may, however, evaluate acquisitions that we believe could produce

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attractive returns for our stockholders. These could include fee-based businesses, whole bank or branch acquisitions that would improve our market position in geographies with attractive demographics and business trends, expand our existing branch network in existing markets, enhance our earnings power or product and service offerings, or expand our wealth management activities.

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Lending Activities

General. Our principal lending activity has been the origination of commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, and to a lesser extent, residential real estate loans, home equity loans and consumer loans. Our customers are primarily small and medium- sized businesses, attorneys, and other professionals. The following table sets forth the composition of our loan portfolio by the type of loan at December 31, 2023:

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Commercial Real Estate Lending. As of December 31, 2023, we had $1.3 billion in total commercial real estate loans, representing approximately 72.1% of total loans. We originate loans to finance commercial real estate, primarily secured by commercial retail space, multifamily properties, office buildings and warehouses in our primary lending market. Generally, our commercial real estate loans have terms between five and ten years based on a 20 to 30 year amortization schedule, loan-to-value ratios of up to 75% of the appraised value of the property and are often credit enhanced by personal guarantees of the borrowers. Our typical commercial real estate loan has a three, five or seven-year fixed rate term which then adjusts at a margin above the FHLB of New York fixed rate advance index for the remainder of the term with a balloon payment due usually at the end of ten years. At December 31, 2023, 10.9% of our commercial real estate loans were for owner-occupied properties. At December 31, 2023, we had $269.8 million in loans secured by multifamily properties.

At December 31, 2023, the following represents a summary of commercial real estate loans by the four largest New York counties within our geographic market areas. The summary is as follows:

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Additionally, the composition of our commercial real estate portfolio includes certain segments which represent the five largest categories by borrower type. These categories total over 67% of the commercial real estate loan portfolio, excluding construction loans. The summary is as follows:

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We consider a number of factors in originating commercial real estate loans. We evaluate the qualifications and financial condition of the borrower, including project-level and global cash flows, credit history, and management expertise, as well as the value, condition, and location of the property securing the loan. When evaluating the qualifications of the borrower, we consider the financial resources of the borrower, the borrower’s experience in owning or managing similar property and the borrower’s payment history with us and other financial institutions. In evaluating the property securing the loan, the factors we consider include the net operating income of the mortgaged property before debt service and depreciation, the ratio of the loan amount to the appraised value of the mortgaged property and the debt service coverage ratio (the ratio of net operating income to debt service). We generally require a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.20x. All commercial real estate loans of $500,000 or more are appraised by outside independent appraisers. Personal guarantees are generally obtained from the principals of commercial real estate loans. All commercial real estate loans of more than $500,000 must have an environmental assessment completed.

Commercial real estate loans generally entail greater credit risks compared to one- to four-family mortgage loans, as they typically involve larger loan balances concentrated with single borrowers or groups of related borrowers. In addition, the payment of loans secured by income-producing properties typically depends on the successful operation of the property, as repayment of the loan generally is dependent, in large part, on sufficient income from the property to cover operating expenses and debt service. Changes in economic conditions that are not in the control of the borrower or lender could affect the value of the collateral for the loan or the future cash flow of the property.

Commercial and Industrial Lending. As of December 31, 2023, we had $273.6 million in commercial and industrial loans (including PPP loans), representing 15.7% of total loans. We originate commercial and industrial loans, consisting of short-term loans, lines of credit and term loans to businesses located in our primary lending market. These loans are used for various business purposes including the finance of machinery and equipment purchases, inventory and accounts receivable as well as real estate purchases.

Our commercial lines of credit are typically made with variable interest rates, which are tied to the Prime Rate of interest. Term loans generally consist of fixed-rate loans and are limited to seven-year terms. Generally, the maximum term for loans extended on machinery and equipment is based on the projected useful life of such machinery and equipment. Most business lines of credit are written on demand and may be renewed annually.

When making commercial and industrial loans, we consider the financial statements of the borrower, our lending history with the borrower, the debt service capabilities and global cash flows of the borrower and other guarantors, and the value of the collateral, accounts receivable, inventory and equipment. We also consider the business the borrower is in and the economic conditions affecting that business.

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Commercial and industrial loans generally have a greater credit risk than one- to four-family mortgage loans. Unlike residential mortgage loans, which generally are made on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from his or her employment and other income, and which are secured by real property whose value tends to be more easily ascertainable, commercial and industrial loans are of higher risk and typically are made primarily on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from the cash flow of the borrower’s business. As a result, the availability of funds for the repayment of commercial and industrial loans may be substantially dependent on the success of the business itself. Further, the collateral securing the loans may depreciate over time, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based on the success of the business.

Commercial Real Estate Construction Lending. As of December 31, 2023, we had $85.7 million in commercial real estate construction loans, representing 4.9% of total loans. We engage in commercial real estate construction lending, primarily for projects located within our primary lending market. Our commercial real estate construction lending consists of commercial and residential site development loans as well as commercial building construction and residential housing construction loans. These loans are generally secured by the subject property. Terms of construction loans depend on the specifics of the project such as the estimated time for completion, the planned construction costs and the prospective appraised value of those projects. At December 31, 2023, we have made commitments of $244.4 million of which $85.7 million has been drawn by our commercial real estate construction borrowers.

In underwriting commercial real estate construction loans, we perform a thorough analysis of the financial condition of the borrower, the borrower’s credit history, the reliability and predictability of the cash flow generated by the project using feasibility studies and market data.

Appraisals on properties securing commercial real estate construction loans we originated are performed by independent appraisers.

Commercial real estate construction loans generally present a higher level of risk than other types of loans due primarily to the effect of general economic conditions and uncertainties of construction costs.

Residential Real Estate Lending. As of December 31, 2023, we had $78.3 million in total residential real estate loans, representing 4.5% of total loans. In recent years, we have deemphasized the origination of residential real estate loans in our portfolio. We offer fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans with terms up to a maximum of 20 years. The majority of our residential real estate loans are originated with a loan-to-value of 80% or less. Loans in excess of 80% are required to have private mortgage insurance. These loans are generally secured by properties located in, or made to customers who reside in, our primary market area.

In underwriting one- to four-family residential real estate loans, we evaluate both the borrower’s ability to make monthly payments and the value of the property securing the loan. Properties securing real estate loans we make are appraised by independent appraisers. We generally require borrowers to obtain an attorney’s title opinion or title insurance, and fire and property insurance (including flood insurance, if necessary) in an amount not less than the amount of the loan. We have not engaged in sub-prime residential mortgage originations.

Home Equity Lending. As of December 31, 2023, we had $13.5 million in total home equity loans, representing less than 1% of total loans. We originate home equity lines of credit and closed-end loans. These loans are generally secured by properties located in, or made to customers who reside in, our primary market area. Home equity lines and loans are secured by the borrower’s primary residence with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 85% and a maximum term of 15 years on home equity loans and a 10 year draw period followed by a 15 year repayment period for home equity lines. Home equity loans adjust based on the Prime Rate.

In underwriting home equity lines and loans, a thorough analysis of the borrower’s financial ability to repay the loan as agreed is performed. The ability to repay is determined by the borrower’s employment history, current financial conditions, and credit background. The analysis is based primarily on the customer’s ability to repay and secondarily on the collateral or security.

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Home equity lines and loans generally present a lower level of risk than other types of consumer loans because they are secured by a junior lien on the borrower’s primary residence. However, the subordinate nature of some home equity lines and loans may make these loans of higher risk than other residential real estate loans. Particularly with respect to our home equity lines of credit, decreases in real estate values could adversely affect the value of property securing the loan.

Consumer Lending. As of December 31, 2023, we had $36.6 million in consumer loans, representing 2.1% of total loans. We offer a variety of secured and unsecured consumer loans, including vehicle loans, loans secured by savings deposits as well as other types of consumer loans.

In underwriting consumer loans, a thorough analysis of the borrower’s financial ability to repay the loan is performed. The ability to repay is determined by the borrower’s employment history, current financial condition, and credit background.

Consumer loans may entail greater credit risk than do residential real estate loans particularly in the case of consumer loans which are unsecured or are secured by rapidly depreciable assets, such as automobiles or recreational equipment. In such cases, any repossessed collateral for a defaulted consumer loan may not provide an adequate source of repayment of the outstanding loan balance as a result of the greater likelihood of damage, loss or depreciation. In addition, 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 which can be recovered on such loans.

Loan Purchases, Participations and Sales. From time to time we purchase loans or participate in loans with other financial institutions to supplement our origination of loans. Through our loan participations, we and the other participating lenders generally share ratably in cash flows and any gains or losses that may result from a borrower’s lack of compliance with contractual terms of the loan. We primarily participate in commercial real estate loans, including multi-family real estate loans, and in commercial and industrial loans. When we are not lead lender, we always follow our customary loan underwriting and approval procedures. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding balances of our loan participations totaled $114.9 million, of which $97.9 million were commercial real estate loans, $15.0 million were commercial real estate construction loans, and $2.0 million were commercial and industrial loans. In May 2018, we joined a community bank lending network operated by BancAlliance which provides the opportunity to participate in commercial and industrial loans and lines of credit that are broadly syndicated to member banks and outside institutions. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding balances of loans sourced through this program totaled $24.8 million, across six distinct borrower relationships.

We also purchase whole loans from other lenders. Beginning in 2018, we have purchased commercial and industrial loans made to medical professionals throughout the U.S. such as to doctors, dentists, accountants, and attorneys secured by a blanket lien on their business assets from a national provider of such loans. We follow our customary loan underwriting and approval policies specific to these purchased loans. Historically, we had purchased such loans under two programs. The first is a direct purchase with no guarantee (the “Direct Purchase Loans”), in which the loans are purchased at par with a put-back provision to the originator in the event of nonperformance. The second program carried a 50% guarantee from the seller (the “Partial Guaranteed Loans”) in which the loans were purchased at par. Because these loans are generally secured by business assets, they may be subject to a greater extent to the financial condition of the borrower than loans secured by real estate collateral. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we modified the arrangement and, effectively, replaced the Partial Guaranteed Loans with Direct Purchase Loans. During the years ended December 31, 2022, we did not purchase any Partial Guaranteed Loans. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the aggregate balance of the purchased loans under these programs were $53.5 million and $32.5 million, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we did not purchase any partially guaranteed consumer loans.

We generally do not sell loans and did not sell any loans during the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022.

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Credit Risk Management

We control credit risk both through disciplined underwriting of each transaction, as well as active credit management processes and procedures to manage risk and minimize loss throughout the life of a transaction. We seek to maintain a broadly diversified loan portfolio in terms of type of customer, type of loan product and industries in which our business customers are engaged. We have developed tailored underwriting criteria and credit management processes for each of the various loan product types we offer our customers.

Underwriting. In evaluating each potential loan relationship, we adhere to a disciplined underwriting evaluation process including but not limited to the following:

•understanding the borrower’s financial condition and ability to repay the loan;

•determining whether the borrower is a capable manager;

•understanding the specific purpose of the loan;

•verifying that the primary, secondary and tertiary sources of repayment are adequate in relation to the amount and structure of the loan;

•assessing the economic environment in which the loan would be granted; and

•ensuring that each loan is properly documented with perfected liens on collateral.

Loan Approval Authority. Our lending activities follow written, non-discriminatory, underwriting standards and loan origination procedures established by our Board of Directors and management. The approval of two out of three of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Lending Officer or the Executive Vice President-Rockland Regional President is generally required for lending relationships up to $1.0 million. Lending relationships of more than $1.0 million and up to $3.0 million must be approved by the Management Loan Committee. The Management Loan Committee consists of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Lending Officer, the Executive Vice President-Rockland Regional President, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Credit Officer. Lending relationships of more than $3.0 million and up to $15.0 million (the internal house limit) must be approved by the Directors Loan Committee which consists of four directors. The approval of our Board of Directors is required for all Regulation O loans, lending relationships greater than $15.0 million and up to and including the Bank’s legal lending limit and loans with more than three underwriting exceptions.

Loans to One Borrower Limit. In accordance with loans-to-one-borrower regulations, the Bank is generally limited to lending no more than 15% of its unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus to any one borrower or borrowing entity. This limit may be increased by an additional 10% for loans secured by readily marketable collateral having a market value, as determined by reliable and continuously available price quotations, at least equal to the amount of funds outstanding. To qualify for this additional 10% the Bank must perfect a security interest in the collateral and the collateral must have a market value at all times of at least 100% of the loan amount that exceeds the 15% general limit. At December 31, 2023, our regulatory limit on loans-to-one borrower was approximately $35.9 million.

Ongoing Credit Risk Management. In addition to the tailored underwriting process described above, we perform ongoing risk monitoring and review processes for all credit exposures. Although we grade and classify our loans internally, we have an independent third-party professional firm perform regular loan reviews to confirm loan classifications. We strive to identify potential problem loans early in an effort to aggressively seek resolution of these situations before the loans create a loss, record any necessary charge- offs promptly and maintain adequate allowance levels for probable loan losses incurred in the loan portfolio.

Additionally, whenever a particular loan or overall borrower relationship is downgraded to pass-watch or special mention based on one or more standard loan grading factors, our credit officers engage in active evaluation of the asset to determine the appropriate resolution strategy. Management regularly reviews the status of the watch list and classified assets portfolio as well as the larger credits in the portfolio.

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On January 1, 2023, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13 (Topic 326), which replaced the incurred loss methodology with CECL for financial instruments measured at amortized cost and other commitments to extend credit. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation allowance for management’s estimate of expected credit losses in the loan portfolio. The process to determine expected credit losses utilizes analytic tools and judgement and is reviewed on a quarterly basis. When management is reasonably certain that a loan balance is not fully collectable, an analysis is completed and an individual reserve may be established or a full or partial charge off could be recorded against the allowance. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. Expected credit losses are estimated over the contractual term of the loans, adjusted for expected prepayments when appropriate. Also included in the allowance for credit losses are qualitative reserves that are expected, but, in management’s assessment, may not be adequately represented in the quantitative analysis or the forecasts described above. The allowance is available for any loan that, in management’s judgment, should be charged off. Although management uses the best information available, the level of the allowance for credit losses remains an estimate, which is subject to significant judgment and short-term change.

Wealth Management Business Segment

Through HVIA and Orange Bank & Trust Company’s trust department, we offer a range of trust services, including managing customer investments, serving as custodian of customer assets, and providing fiduciary services including serving as trustee and personal representative of estates. Our clients include individuals, trusts, businesses, employer-sponsored retirement plans and charitable organizations. At December 31, 2023, we had $1.6 billion of assets under management in a fiduciary, custodial or agency capacity for customers. These assets are not assets of Orange Bank & Trust Company or HVIA and therefore are not included in the consolidated balance sheets included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. HVIA and Orange Bank & Trust Company’s trust department collectively had 42 full-time equivalent employees as of December 31, 2023 and revenue of $10.3 million or approximately 8.8% of our total revenues in 2023.

Investments

Our board of directors is responsible for approving and overseeing our investment policy. The investment policy is reviewed at least annually by management and any changes to the policy are recommended to the board of directors and are subject to its approval. This policy dictates that investment decisions be made based on the safety of the investment, regulatory standards, liquidity requirements, potential returns and consistency with our interest rate risk management strategy. We also use our investment portfolio to collateralize our municipal deposits. Our asset liability management committee, which consists of our President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Lending Officer, Trust Services Director and Controller and the Finance Committee of the board of directors, oversees our investing activities and strategies.

Our current investment policy authorizes us to invest in debt securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies or government sponsored enterprises. In addition, management is authorized to invest in investment grade state and municipal obligations. The policy also permits investments in mortgage-backed securities, including pass-through securities, issued and guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, as well as investments in federal funds and deposits in other insured institutions. We also are required to maintain an investment in FHLB stock, which investment is based primarily on the level of our FHLB borrowings. Additionally, we are required to maintain an investment in Federal Reserve Bank of New York stock equal to six percent of our capital and surplus. We do not engage in any investment hedging activities or trading activities, nor do we purchase any high-risk mortgage derivative products, corporate junk bonds, and certain types of structured notes.

At December 31, 2023, we had a portfolio of investment securities available for sale which is reported at fair value through accumulated other comprehensive loss.

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Deposit Funding

Deposits are our primary source of funds to support our interest earning assets and growth. As of December 31, 2023, we held approximately $2.0 billion of total deposits. The following table sets forth our total deposit account balances, by account type, at December 31, 2023:

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We obtain most of our deposits from individuals, attorneys and other professionals, small and medium- sized businesses and municipalities in our market. We solicit deposits through our relationship-driven team of dedicated and accessible bankers and through community-focused marketing. We emphasize obtaining deposit relationships at loan origination. We have invested in personnel, business and compliance processes and technology that enable us to acquire, and efficiently and effectively serve, a wide array of business deposit accounts, while continuing to provide the level of customer service for which we are known. We currently offer a comprehensive range of business deposit products and services to assist with the banking needs of our business customers, including a variety of remote deposit and cash management products along with commercial transaction accounts. We also provide online banking, mobile banking, and direct deposit services.

We offer a selection of deposit accounts, including demand accounts (interest-bearing and non-interest- bearing), money market deposit accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Deposit account terms vary, with the principal differences being the minimum balance required, the amount of time the funds must remain on deposit and the interest rate. At December 31, 2023, our core deposits (which includes all deposits except for certificates of deposit) totaled $1.8 billion, or 89.1% of our total deposits, and our cost of funds on this stable funding source was 1.26% anchored by our noninterest bearing demand deposits which represented 34.3% of total deposits at December 31, 2023. We have approximately $172.4 million of brokered deposits at December 31, 2023. Our CDARS and ICS deposits totaled $110.6 million at December 31, 2023.

We actively seek to obtain municipal deposits. At December 31, 2023, municipal deposits totaled $270.1 million or 13.3% of our total deposits. We have developed a program for the retention and management of municipal deposits. These deposits are from local government entities such as county, village and town governments, school districts, fire departments and other municipalities. We solicit their operating and savings deposits. Municipal deposit accounts are generally collateralized by eligible government and government agency securities.

The flow of deposits is influenced significantly by general economic conditions, changes in money market and other prevailing interest rates and competition. The variety of deposit accounts offered allows us to be competitive in obtaining funds and responding to changes in consumer demand. Based on experience, we believe that our deposits are relatively stable. However, the ability to attract and maintain deposits and the rates paid on these deposits has been and will continue to be significantly affected by market conditions.

Borrowings

We maintain diverse funding sources including borrowing lines at the FHLB, two commercial banks and the Federal Reserve Bank discount window. Borrowings represent an alternative funding source, accordingly, we utilize advances from the FHLB to supplement our supply of investable funds. The FHLB functions as a central reserve bank providing credit for its member financial institutions. As a member, we are required to own capital stock in the FHLB and are authorized to apply for advances on the security of such stock and certain of our whole first mortgage loans and

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other assets (principally securities which are obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United States), provided certain standards related to creditworthiness have been met. Advances are made under several different programs, each having its own interest rate and range of maturities. Depending on the program, limitations on the amount of advances are based either on a fixed percentage of an institution’s net worth or on the Federal Home Loan Bank’s assessment of the institution’s creditworthiness. As of December 31, 2023, we had $495.6 million of available borrowing capacity with the FHLB. On that date, we had $234.5 million in advances outstanding from the FHLB. The other borrowing lines are maintained primarily for contingency funding sources and had no amounts outstanding at December 31, 2023.

Competition

The banking business is highly competitive and we face strong competition from many other financial institutions. Our principal competitors are commercial and community banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, mortgage banking firms and online mortgage lenders and consumer finance companies, including large national financial institutions that operate in our market. Our profitability depends in large part based upon our continued ability to successfully compete with these institutions for lending opportunities, deposit funds, financial products, bankers and potential acquisition targets.

We conduct business through 15 banking offices and one loan production office in Orange, Westchester, Rockland and Bronx Counties in New York. Many other commercial and community banks, savings institutions, credit unions and other financial institutions maintain a physical presence in our primary market area and some maintain only a virtual presence. Many of these competitors are larger than us, have significantly more resources, greater brand recognition and more extensive and established branch networks or geographic footprints than we do, and may be able to attract customers more effectively than we can. Because of their scale, many of these competitors can be more aggressive than we can on loan and deposit pricing, and may better afford and make broader use of media advertising, support services and electronic technology than we do. Also, many of our non-bank competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and may have lower cost structures. To offset these competitive disadvantages, we concentrate marketing efforts in the local markets we service with local advertisements, and personal contacts, and we depend on our reputation as having greater personal service and the ability to make credit and other business decisions quicker than our competitors.

Personnel

As of December 31, 2023, we had 197 full-time equivalent employees at Orange County Bancorp, Orange Bank & Trust Company and HVIA, none of whom are represented by a collective bargaining unit. We believe we have a good working relationship with our employees.

Subsidiaries

Orange Bank & Trust Company and HVIA are the only subsidiaries of Orange County Bancorp and there are no subsidiaries of Orange Bank & Trust Company and HVIA.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

General

The Bank is a trust company organized under the laws of the state of New York. It is a member of the Federal Reserve System and its deposits are insured under the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”) of the FDIC up to applicable legal limits. The lending, investment, deposit-taking, and other business authority of the Bank is governed primarily by state and federal law and regulations and the Bank is prohibited from engaging in any operations not authorized by such laws and regulations. The Bank is subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by, and the enforcement authority of, the NYSDFS and FRB, and to a lesser extent by the FDIC, as its deposit insurer. The Bank is also subject to federal financial consumer protection and fair lending laws and regulations of the CFPB, though, because it has less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, the FRB and NYSDFS are responsible for examining and supervising the Bank’s compliance with these laws. The regulatory structure establishes a comprehensive framework of activities in which a

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state member bank may engage and is primarily intended for the protection of depositors, customers and the DIF. The regulatory structure gives the regulatory agencies extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities and examination policies, including policies with respect to the classification of assets and the establishment of adequate loan loss reserves for regulatory purposes.

The Company is a bank holding company, due to its control of the Bank, and is therefore subject to the requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and regulation and supervision by the FRB. The Company files reports with and is subject to periodic examination by the FRB. Any change in the applicable laws and regulations could have a material adverse impact on the Company and the Bank and their operations and the Company’s stockholders.

The following is a summary of some of the laws and regulations applicable to the Bank and the Company. The summary is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual laws and regulations.

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Bank Regulation

Loans and Investments

State commercial banks and trust companies have authority to originate and purchase any type of loan, including commercial, commercial real estate, residential mortgages or consumer loans. Aggregate loans by a state commercial bank or trust company to any single borrower or group of related borrowers are generally limited to 15% of the Bank’s capital stock, surplus fund and undivided profits, plus an additional 10% if secured by specified readily marketable collateral.

Federal and state law and regulations limit the Bank’s investment authority. Generally, a state member bank is prohibited from investing in corporate equity securities for its own account other than the equity securities of companies through which the bank conducts its business. Under federal and state regulations, a New York state member bank may invest in investment securities for its own account up to specified limits depending upon the type of security. “Investment securities” are generally defined as marketable obligations that are investment grade and not predominantly speculative in nature. The NYSDFS classifies investment securities into five different types and, depending on its type, a state commercial bank or trust company may have the authority to deal in and underwrite the security. The NYSDFS has also permitted New York state member banks to purchase certain non-investment securities that can be reclassified and underwritten as loans.

Lending Standards and Guidance

The federal banking agencies adopted uniform regulations prescribing standards for extensions of credit that are secured by liens or interests in real estate or made for the purpose of financing permanent improvements to real estate. Under these regulations, all insured depository institutions, such as the Bank, must adopt and maintain written policies establishing appropriate limits and standards for extensions of credit that are secured by liens or interests in real estate or are made for the purpose of financing permanent improvements to real estate. These policies must establish loan portfolio diversification standards, prudent underwriting standards (including loan-to-value limits) that are clear and measurable, loan administration procedures, and documentation, approval and reporting requirements. The real estate lending policies must reflect consideration of the federal bank regulators’ Interagency Guidelines for Real Estate Lending Policies that have been adopted.

The FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FRB have also jointly issued the “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound Risk Management Practices” (the “CRE Guidance”). The CRE Guidance, which addresses land development, construction, and certain multi-family loans, as well as commercial real estate loans, does not establish specific lending limits but rather reinforces and enhances these agencies’ existing regulations and guidelines for such lending and portfolio management. Specifically, the CRE Guidance provides that a bank has a concentration in CRE lending if (1) total reported loans for construction, land development, and other land represent 100% or more of total risk-based capital; or (2) total reported loans secured by multi-family properties, non-farm non-residential properties (excluding those that are owner-occupied), and loans for construction, land development, and other

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land represent 300% or more of total risk-based capital and the bank’s commercial real estate loan portfolio has increased 50% or more during the prior 36 months. If a concentration is present, management must employ heightened risk management practices that address key elements, including board and management oversight and strategic planning, portfolio management, development of underwriting standards, risk assessment and monitoring through market analysis and stress testing, and maintenance of increased capital levels as needed to support the level of commercial real estate lending.

Federal Deposit Insurance

The Bank is a member of the Deposit Insurance Fund, which is administered by the FDIC. The Bank’s deposit accounts are insured by the FDIC, generally up to a maximum of $250,000 per depositor.

The FDIC imposes deposit insurance assessments against all insured depository institutions. The FDIC adopted a final rule in 2022, applicable to all insured depository institutions, to increase initial base deposit insurance assessment rate schedules uniformly by two basis points, beginning in the first quarterly assessment period of 2023. The FDIC also concurrently maintained the DIF reserve ratio at 2.0% for 2023. The increase in assessment rate schedules is intended to increase the likelihood that the reserve ratio reaches the statutory minimum of 1.35% by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2028. An institution’s assessment rate depends upon the perceived risk of the institution to the DIF, with institutions deemed less risky paying lower rates. Currently, assessments for institutions of less than $10 billion of total assets are based on financial measures and supervisory ratings derived from statistical models estimating the probability of failure within three years. Assessment rates (inclusive of possible adjustments) currently range from 3.5 to 32 basis points of each institution’s total assets less tangible capital. The FDIC may increase or decrease the range of assessments uniformly, except that no adjustment can deviate more than two basis points from the base assessment rate without notice and comment rulemaking. The FDIC may also issue special assessments. In 2023, the FDIC issued a special assessment applicable for banks with uninsured deposits in excess of $5 billion in order to recover losses sustained by the DIF as a result of the March 2023 failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

Insurance of deposits may be terminated by the FDIC upon a finding that an institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC. We do not know of any practice, condition or violation that might lead to termination of deposit insurance at the Bank.

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Capitalization

The FRB regulations require state member banks, such as the Bank, to meet several minimum capital standards: a common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-based assets ratio, a Tier 1 capital to risk-based assets ratio, a total capital to risk-based assets and a Tier 1 capital to total assets leverage ratio. The existing capital requirements were effective January 1, 2015 and are the result of a final rule implementing regulatory amendments based on recommendations of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The capital standards require the maintenance of a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of at least 4.5%, 6% and 8%, respectively, and a leverage ratio of at least 4% Tier 1 capital. Common equity Tier 1 capital consists primarily of common stockholders’ equity and related surplus, plus retained earnings, less any amounts of goodwill, other intangible assets, and other items required to be deducted. Tier 1 capital consists primarily of common equity Tier 1 and Additional Tier 1 capital. Additional Tier 1 capital generally includes certain noncumulative perpetual preferred stock and related surplus and minority interests in equity accounts of consolidated subsidiaries. Total capital includes Tier 1 capital (common equity Tier 1 capital plus Additional Tier 1 capital) and Tier 2 capital. Tier 2 capital primarily includes capital instruments and related surplus meeting specified requirements and may include cumulative preferred stock and long-term perpetual preferred stock, mandatory convertible securities, intermediate preferred stock and subordinated debt. Also included in Tier 2 capital is the allowance for loan losses limited to a maximum of 1.25% of risk-weighted assets. Calculation of all types of regulatory capital is subject to deductions and adjustments specified in the regulations.

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In determining the amount of risk-weighted assets for purposes of calculating risk-based capital ratios, a bank’s assets, including certain off-balance sheet assets (e.g., recourse obligations, direct credit substitutes, residual interests), are multiplied by a risk weight factor assigned by the regulations based on perceived risks inherent in the type of asset. Higher levels of capital are required for asset categories believed to present greater risk. For example, a risk weight of 0% is assigned to cash and U.S. government securities, a risk weight of 50% is generally assigned to prudently underwritten first lien one-to four-family residential mortgages, a risk weight of 100% is assigned to commercial and consumer loans, a risk weight of 150% is assigned to certain past due loans or are on non-accrual status and a risk weight of between 0% to 600% is assigned to permissible equity interests, depending on certain specified factors.

In addition to establishing the minimum regulatory capital requirements, the regulations limit capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to management if the institution does not hold a “capital conservation buffer” consisting of 2.5% of common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets above the amount necessary to meet its minimum risk-based capital requirements. The Bank’s capital conservation buffer was greater than 2.5% of risk-weighted assets at December 31, 2023.

As a result of an amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, banking regulatory agencies adopted a revised definition of “well capitalized” for financial institutions and holding companies with assets of less than $10 billion and that are not determined to be ineligible by their primary federal regulator due to their risk profile (a “Qualifying Community Bank”). The new definition expanded the ways that a Qualifying Community Bank may meet its capital requirements and be deemed “well capitalized.” The rule establishes a community bank leverage ratio (“CBLR”) equal to the Tier 1 capital divided by the average total consolidated assets. Regulators have established the CBLR at 9.0%.

A Qualifying Community Bank that meets and elects to follow the CBLR is considered to be well capitalized and to have met generally applicable leverage capital requirements, generally applicable risk-based capital requirements, and any other capital or leverage requirements to which such financial institution or holding company is subject.

The Bank did not elect into the CBLR framework and at December 31, 2023, the Bank’s capital exceeded all applicable requirements.

Safety and Soundness Standards

Each federal banking agency, including the FRB, has adopted guidelines establishing general standards relating to, among other things, internal controls, information and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, asset quality, earnings, compensation, fees and benefits and information security standards. In general, the guidelines set forth the safety and soundness standards that the federal banking agencies use to identify and address problems at insured depository institutions before capital becomes impaired, and require appropriate systems and practices to identify and manage the risks and exposures specified in the guidelines. The guidelines prohibit excessive compensation as an unsafe and unsound practice and describe compensation as excessive when the amounts paid are unreasonable or disproportionate to the services performed by an executive officer, employee, director, or principal stockholder. The FDIC also has issued guidance on risks banks may face from third-party relationships (e.g., relationships under which the third-party provides services to the bank). The guidance generally requires the Bank to perform adequate due diligence on the third-party, appropriately document the relationship, and perform adequate oversight and auditing, in order to the limit the risks to the Bank.

Prompt Corrective Regulatory Action

Federal law requires that federal bank regulatory authorities take “prompt corrective action” with respect to institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. For these purposes, the statute establishes five capital tiers: well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized.

Under the prompt corrective action requirements, insured depository institutions are required to meet the following in order to qualify as “well capitalized:” (1) a common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6.5%; (2) a Tier 1 risk-

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based capital ratio of 8%; (3) a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% and (4) a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 5%. The Bank was classified as well capitalized at December 31, 2023.

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State member banks that have insufficient capital are subject to certain mandatory and discretionary supervisory measures. For example, a bank that is “undercapitalized” (i.e., fails to comply with any regulatory capital requirement) is subject to growth, capital distribution (including dividend) and other limitations, and is required to submit a capital restoration plan; a holding company that controls such a bank is required to guarantee that the bank complies with the restoration plan. If an undercapitalized institution fails to submit an acceptable plan, it is treated as if it is “significantly undercapitalized.” A “significantly undercapitalized” bank is subject to additional restrictions. State member banks deemed by the FRB to be “critically undercapitalized” also may not make any payment of principal or interest on certain subordinated debt, extend credit for a highly leveraged transaction, or enter into any material transactions outside the ordinary course of business after 60 days of obtaining such status, and are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator within 270 days after obtaining such status.

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Dividends

Under federal and state law and applicable regulations, a state member bank may generally declare a dividend, without approval from the NYSDFS or FRB, in an amount equal to its year-to-date net income plus the prior two years’ net income that is still available for dividend. Dividends exceeding those amounts require application to and approval by the NYSDFS or FRB. To pay a cash dividend, a state member bank must also maintain an adequate capital conservation buffer under the capital rules discussed above.

Incentive Compensation Guidance

The FRB, OCC, FDIC and other federal banking agencies, and NYSDFS have issued comprehensive guidance intended to ensure that the incentive compensation policies of banking organizations, including state member banks and bank holding companies, do not undermine the safety and soundness of those organizations by encouraging excessive risk-taking. The incentive compensation guidance sets expectations for banking organizations concerning their incentive compensation arrangements and related risk- management, control and governance processes. In addition, under the incentive compensation guidance, a banking organization’s federal supervisor, which for the Bank and the Company is the FRB, may initiate enforcement action if the organization’s incentive compensation arrangements pose a risk to the safety and soundness of the organization. Further, provisions of the Basel III regime described above limit discretionary bonus payments to bank and bank holding company executives if the institution’s regulatory capital ratios fail to exceed certain thresholds. The scope and content of the banking regulators’ policies on incentive compensation are likely to continue evolving.

Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders

Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act govern transactions between an insured depository institution and its affiliates, which includes the Company. The FRB has adopted Regulation W, which implements and interprets Sections 23A and 23B, in part by codifying prior FRB interpretations.

An affiliate of a bank is any company or entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the bank. A subsidiary of a bank that is not also a depository institution or a “financial subsidiary” under federal law is not treated as an affiliate of the bank for the purposes of Sections 23A and 23B; however, the FRB has the discretion to treat subsidiaries of a bank as affiliates on a case-by-case basis. Section 23A limits the extent to which a bank or its subsidiaries may engage in “covered transactions” with any one affiliate to an amount equal to 10% of the bank’s capital stock and surplus. There is an aggregate limit of 20% of the bank’s capital stock and surplus for such transactions with all affiliates. The term “covered transaction” includes, among other things, the making of a loan to an affiliate, a purchase of assets from an affiliate, the issuance of a guarantee on behalf of an affiliate and the acceptance of securities of an affiliate as collateral for a loan. All such transactions are required to be on terms and conditions that are consistent with safe and sound banking practices and no transaction may involve the acquisition of any “low quality asset” from an affiliate unless certain conditions are satisfied. Certain covered transactions, such as loans to or guarantees on behalf of an affiliate, must be secured by collateral in amounts ranging from 100 to 130 percent of the loan amount, depending

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upon the type of collateral. In addition, Section 23B requires that any covered transaction (and specified other transactions) between a bank and an affiliate must be on terms and conditions that are substantially the same, or at least as favorable, to the bank, as those that would be provided to a non-affiliate.

A bank’s loans to its executive officers, directors, any owner of more than 10% of its stock (each, an “insider”) and certain entities affiliated with any such person (an insider’s “related interest”) are subject to the conditions and limitations imposed by Section 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act and the FRB’s Regulation O. The aggregate amount of a bank’s loans to any insider and the insider’s related interests may not exceed the loans-to-one-borrower limit applicable to state member banks. Aggregate loans by a bank to its insiders and insiders’ related interests may not exceed 15% of the bank’s unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus plus an additional 10% of unimpaired capital and surplus in the case of loans that are fully secured by readily marketable collateral, or when the aggregate amount on all of the extensions of credit outstanding to all of these persons would exceed the bank’s unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus. With certain exceptions, such as education loans and certain residential mortgages, a bank’s loans to its executive officers may not exceed the greater of $25,000 or 2.5% of the bank’s unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus, but in no event more than $100,000. Regulation O also requires that any loan to an insider or a related interest of an insider be approved in advance by a majority of the board of directors of the bank, with any interested director not participating in the voting, if the loan, when aggregated with any existing loans to that insider or the insider’s related interests, would exceed the higher of $25,000 or 5% of the bank’s unimpaired capital and surplus. Generally, such loans must be made on substantially the same terms as, and follow credit underwriting procedures that are no less stringent than, those that are prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with other persons and must not involve more than a normal risk of repayment. An exception is made for extensions of credit made pursuant to a benefit or compensation plan of a bank that is widely available to employees of the bank and that does not give any preference to insiders of the bank over other employees of the bank.

Enforcement

The NYSDFS and the FRB have extensive enforcement authority over state member banks to correct unsafe or unsound practices and violations of law or regulation. Such authority includes the issuance of cease and desist orders, assessment of civil money penalties and removal of officers and directors. The FRB may also appoint a conservator or receiver for a state member bank under specified circumstances, such as where (i) the bank’s assets are less than its obligations to creditors, (ii) the bank is likely to be unable to pay its obligations or meet depositors’ demands in the normal course of business, or (iii) a substantial dissipation of bank assets or earnings has occurred due to a violation of law of regulation or unsafe or unsound practices. Separately, the Superintendent of the NYSDFS also has the authority to appoint a receiver or liquidator of any state-chartered bank or trust company under specified circumstances, including where (i) the bank is conducting its business in an unauthorized or unsafe manner, (ii) the bank has suspended payment of its obligations, or (iii) the bank cannot with safety and expediency continue to do business.

Federal Reserve

Under federal law and regulations, the Bank is required to maintain sufficient liquidity to ensure safe and sound banking practices. Regulation D, promulgated by the FRB, imposes reserve requirements on all depository institutions, including the Bank, which maintain transaction accounts or non-personal time deposits. In March 2020, due to a change in its approach to monetary policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FRB implemented a final rule to amend Regulation D requirements and reduce reserve requirement ratios to zero. The FRB has indicated that it has no plans to re-impose reserve requirements, but may do so in the future if conditions warrant.

Examinations and Assessments

The Bank is required to file periodic reports with and is subject to periodic examination by the NYSDFS and FRB. Federal and state regulations generally require periodic on-site examinations for all depository institutions. The Bank is required to pay an annual assessment to the NYSDFS and FRB to fund the agencies’ operations.

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Community Reinvestment Act and Fair Lending Laws

Federal Regulation

Under the CRA, the Bank has a continuing and affirmative obligation consistent with its safe and sound operation to help meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for financial institutions nor does it limit an institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best suited to its particular community. The CRA requires the FRB to assess its record of meeting the credit needs of its community and to take that record into account in its evaluation of certain applications by the Bank. For example, the regulations specify that a bank’s CRA performance will be considered in its expansion (e.g., branching or merger) proposals and may be the basis for approving, denying or conditioning the approval of an application. As of the date of its most recent FRB examination, the Bank was rated “Satisfactory” with respect to its CRA compliance.

On October 24, 2023, the FRB and the other the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a final rule to strengthen and modernize the federal CRA regulations. Under the final rule, banks with assets of at least $2 billion as of December 31 in both of the prior two calendar years will be a “large bank.” The FRB will evaluate large banks under four performance tests: the Retail Lending Test, the Retail Services and Products Test, the Community Development Financing Test, and the Community Development Services Test. The applicability date for the majority of the provisions in the CRA regulations is January 1, 2026, and additional requirements will be applicable on January 1, 2027.

New York State Regulation

The Bank is also subject to provisions of the New York State Banking Law that impose continuing and affirmative obligations upon a banking institution organized in New York State to serve the credit needs of its local community. Such obligations are substantially similar to those imposed by the CRA. The latest New York State CRA rating received by the Bank is “Satisfactory.”

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USA PATRIOT Act and Money Laundering

The Bank is subject to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), which incorporates several laws, including the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, or the USA PATRIOT Act and related regulations. The USA PATRIOT Act gives the federal government powers to address money laundering and terrorist threats through enhanced domestic security measures, expanded surveillance powers, increased information sharing, and broadened anti-money laundering requirements. By way of amendments to the BSA, Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act implemented measures intended to encourage information sharing among bank regulatory agencies and law enforcement bodies. Further, certain provisions of Title III impose affirmative obligations on a broad range of financial institutions, including banks, thrifts, brokers, dealers, credit unions, money transfer agents and parties registered under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Among other things, Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act and the related regulations require:

•Establishment of anti-money laundering compliance programs that includes policies, procedures, and internal controls; the designation of a BSA officer; a training program; and independent testing;

•Filing of certain reports to Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and law enforcement that are designated to assist in the detection and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing activities;

•Establishment of a program specifying procedures for obtaining and maintaining certain records from customers seeking to open new accounts, including verifying the identity of customers;

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•In certain circumstances, compliance with enhanced due diligence policies, procedures and controls designed to detect and report money-laundering, terrorist financing and other suspicious activity;

•Monitoring account activity for suspicious transactions; and

•A heightened level of review for certain high-risk customers or accounts.

The USA PATRIOT Act also includes prohibitions on correspondent accounts for foreign shell banks and requires compliance with record keeping obligations with respect to correspondent accounts of foreign banks.

The bank regulatory agencies have increased the regulatory scrutiny of the BSA and anti-money laundering programs maintained by financial institutions. Significant penalties and fines, as well as other supervisory orders may be imposed on a financial institution for non-compliance with these requirements. In addition, for financial institutions engaging in a merger transaction, federal bank regulatory agencies must consider the effectiveness of the financial institution’s efforts to combat money laundering activities. The Bank has adopted policies and procedures to comply with these requirements.

Privacy and Cybersecurity Laws

The Bank is subject to a variety of federal and state privacy laws, which govern the collection, safeguarding, sharing and use of customer information, and require that financial institutions have in place policies regarding information privacy and security. For example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires all financial institutions offering financial products or services to retail customers to provide such customers with the financial institution’s privacy policy and practices for sharing nonpublic information with third parties, provide advance notice of any changes to the policies and provide such customers the opportunity to “opt out” of the sharing of certain personal financial information with unaffiliated third parties. It also requires banks to safeguard personal information of consumer customers. Some state laws also protect the privacy of information of state residents and require adequate security for such data, and certain state laws may, in some circumstances, require the Bank to notify affected individuals of security breaches of computer databases that contain their personal information. These laws may also require the Bank to notify law enforcement, regulators or consumer reporting agencies in the event of a data breach, as well as businesses and governmental agencies that own data.

In November 2021, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a final rule requiring banking organizations to notify their primary federal regulator as soon as possible and no later than 36 hours of determining that a “computer-security incident” that rises to the level of a “notification incident,” as those terms are defined in the final rule, has occurred. A notification incident is a “computer-security incident” that has materially disrupted or degraded, or is reasonably likely to materially disrupt or degrade, the banking organization’s ability to deliver services to a material portion of its customer base, jeopardize the viability of key operations of the banking organization, or impact the stability of the financial sector. The final rule also requires bank service providers to notify any affected bank to or on behalf of which the service provider provides services “as soon as possible” after determining that it has experienced an incident that materially disrupts or degrades, or is reasonably likely to materially disrupt or degrade, covered services provided to such bank for four or more hours. The rule was effective April 1, 2022, with compliance required by May 1, 2022.

The NYSDFS requires New York State-chartered or licensed banks regulated by the NYSDFS, such as the Bank, to adopt broad cybersecurity protections. In particular, the Bank has established a program designed to ensure the safety of its information systems, adopted a written cybersecurity policy, and designated an information security officer. The Bank is subject to ongoing compliance and reporting requirements of the NYSDFS. In November 2023, the NYSDFS amended its cybersecurity regulations to include heightened governance requirements and an expansion of the breadth and depth of required policies and procedures, among other things.

Consumer Finance Regulations

The CFPB has broad rulemaking authority for a wide range of consumer protection laws that apply to all banks and savings institutions, including the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts and practices. In this regard,

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the CFPB has several rules that implement various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that were specifically identified as being enforced by the CFPB. While the Bank is subject to the CFPB regulations, because it has less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, the FRB and the NYSDFS are responsible for examining and supervising the Bank’s compliance with these consumer financial laws and regulations. In addition, the Bank is subject to certain state laws and regulations designed to protect consumers.

Other Regulations

The Bank’s operations are also subject to federal laws applicable to credit transactions, such as:

•The Truth-In-Lending Act, and Regulation Z promulgated thereunder, governing disclosures of credit terms to consumer borrowers;

•The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, requiring that borrowers for mortgage loans for one-to four-family residential real estate receive various disclosures, including good faith estimates of settlement costs, lender servicing and escrow account practices, and prohibiting certain practices that increase the cost of settlement services;

•The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, requiring financial institutions to provide information to enable the public and public officials to determine whether a financial institution is fulfilling its obligation to help meet the housing needs of the community it serves;

•The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and other fair lending laws, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex and other prohibited factors in extending credit;

•The Fair Credit Reporting Act, governing the use of credit reports on consumers and the provision of information to credit reporting agencies;

•Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices laws and regulations;

•The Fair Debt Collection Act, governing the manner in which consumer debts may be collected by collection agencies; and

•The rules and regulations of the various federal agencies charged with the responsibility of implementing such federal laws.

The operations of the Bank are further subject to the:

•The Truth in Savings Act, which specifies disclosure requirements with respect to deposit accounts;

•The Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain confidentiality of consumer financial records and prescribes procedures for complying with administrative subpoenas of financial records;

•The Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E promulgated thereunder, which govern automatic deposits to and withdrawals from deposit accounts and customers’ rights and liabilities arising from the use of automated teller machines and other electronic banking services;

•The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (also known as “Check 21”), which gives “substitute checks,” such as digital check images and copies made from that image, the same legal standing as the original paper check; and

•State unclaimed property or escheatment laws;

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Holding Company Regulation

General

The Company, as a bank holding company controlling the Bank, is subject to regulation and supervision by the FRB under the BHCA. The Company is periodically examined by and required to submit reports to the FRB and must comply with the FRB’s rules and regulations. Among other things, the FRB has authority to restrict activities by a bank holding company that are deemed to pose a serious risk to the subsidiary bank.

Permissible Activities

A bank holding company is generally prohibited from engaging in non-banking activities, or acquiring direct or indirect control of more than 5% of the voting securities of any company engaged in non-banking activities. One of the principal exceptions to this prohibition is for activities found by the FRB to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. Some of the principal activities that the FRB has determined by regulation to be so closely related to banking are: (i) making or servicing loans; (ii) performing certain data processing services; (iii) providing discount brokerage services; (iv) acting as fiduciary, investment or financial advisor; (v) leasing personal or real property; (vi) making investments in corporations or projects designed primarily to promote community welfare; and (vii) acquiring a savings and loan association whose direct and indirect activities are limited to those permitted for bank holding companies.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 authorized a bank holding company that meets specified conditions, including being “well capitalized” and “well managed,” to opt to become a “financial holding company” and thereby engage in a broader array of financial activities than previously permitted. Such activities can include insurance underwriting and investment banking. A “financial holding company” may engage in a broader array of financial activities than permitted a typical bank holding company. Such activities can include insurance underwriting and investment banking. The Company has not elected “financial holding company” status.

Capital

Bank holding companies are subject to consolidated regulatory capital requirements, which have historically been similar to, though less stringent than, those of the for the Bank. Federal legislation, however, required the FRB to promulgate consolidated capital requirements for depository institution holding companies that are no less stringent, both quantitatively and in terms of components of capital, than those applicable to institutions themselves. As a result, consolidated regulatory capital requirements identical to those applicable to the subsidiary banks generally apply to bank holding companies. However, the FRB has provided a “Small Bank Holding Company” exception to its consolidated capital requirements, and subsequent legislation and the related issuance of regulations by the FRB have increased the threshold for the exception to $3.0 billion of consolidated assets. Consequently, bank holding companies such as the Company with less than $3.0 billion of consolidated assets are not subject to the consolidated holding company capital requirements unless otherwise directed by the FRB.

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Source of Strength

The FRB has issued regulations requiring that all bank holding companies serve as a source of strength to their subsidiary depository institutions by providing financial, managerial and other support in times of an institution’s distress.

Dividends and Stock Repurchases

The FRB has issued a policy statement regarding the payment of dividends by holding companies. In general, the policy provides that dividends should be paid only out of current earnings and only if the prospective rate of earnings retention by the holding company appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall supervisory financial condition. Separate regulatory guidance provides for prior consultation with FRB staff concerning dividends in certain circumstances such as where the company’s net income for the past four quarters, net of dividends

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previously paid over that period, is insufficient to fully fund the dividend or the company’s overall rate or earnings retention is inconsistent with the company’s capital needs and overall financial condition. The ability of a bank holding company to pay dividends may be restricted if a subsidiary bank becomes undercapitalized.

The regulatory guidance also states that a bank holding company should consult with FRB supervisory staff prior to redeeming or repurchasing common stock or perpetual preferred stock if the bank holding company is experiencing financial weaknesses or the repurchase or redemption would result in a net reduction, at the end of a quarter, in the amount of such equity instruments outstanding compared with the beginning of the quarter in which the redemption or repurchase occurred.

There is a separate requirement that a bank holding company give the FRB prior written notice of any purchase or redemption of then outstanding equity securities if the gross consideration for the purchase or redemption, when combined with the net consideration paid for all such purchases or redemptions during the preceding 12 months, is equal to 10% or more of the company’s consolidated net worth. The FRB may disapprove such a purchase or redemption if it determines that the proposal would constitute an unsafe and unsound practice, or would violate any law, regulation, FRB order or directive, or any condition imposed by, or written agreement with, the FRB. There is an exception to this approval requirement for well-capitalized bank holding companies that meet certain other conditions.

These regulatory policies may affect the ability of Orange County Bancorp, Inc. to pay dividends, repurchase shares of common stock or otherwise engage in capital distributions.

Acquisition of Control of the Company

Under the Change in Bank Control Act, no person may acquire control of a bank holding company such as the Company unless the FRB has prior written notice and has not issued a notice disapproving the proposed acquisition. In evaluating such notices, the FRB takes into consideration such factors as the financial resources, competence, experience and integrity of the acquirer, the future prospects the bank holding company involved and its subsidiary bank and the competitive effects of the acquisition. Control, as defined under federal law, means ownership, control of or holding irrevocable proxies representing more than 25% of any class of voting stock, control in any manner of the election of a majority of the company’s directors, or a determination by the regulator that the acquirer has the power to direct, or directly or indirectly to exercise a controlling influence over, the management or policies of the institution. Acquisition of more than 10% of any class of a bank holding company’s voting stock constitutes a rebuttable presumption of control under the regulations under certain circumstances including where, as is the case with the Company, the issuer has registered securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Investment Advisory Regulations

We offer wealth management services through HVIA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. HVIA is a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended, and as such, is supervised by the SEC. HVIA is also subject to various other federal laws and state licensing and/or registration requirements. These laws and regulations generally grant supervisory agencies broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict the carrying on of business for failure to comply with such laws.

Federal Securities Laws

Orange County Bancorp, Inc.’s common stock is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Orange County Bancorp, Inc. is a reporting company subject to the information, proxy solicitation, insider trading restrictions and other requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

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Emerging Growth Company Status

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”), which was enacted in April 2012, has made numerous changes to the federal securities laws to facilitate access to capital markets. Under the JOBS Act, a company with total annual gross revenues of less than $1.235 billion during its most recently completed fiscal year qualifies as an “emerging growth company.” Orange County Bancorp, Inc. qualifies as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.

An “emerging growth company” may choose not to hold stockholder votes to approve annual executive compensation (more frequently referred to as “say-on-pay” votes) or executive compensation payable in connection with a merger (more frequently referred to as “say-on-golden parachute” votes). An emerging growth company also is not subject to the requirement that its auditors attest to the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting, and can provide scaled disclosure regarding executive compensation. Finally, an emerging growth company may elect to comply with new or amended accounting pronouncements in the same manner as a private company, but must make such election when the company is first required to file a registration statement. Orange County Bancorp, Inc. has elected to comply with new or amended accounting pronouncements in the same manner as a private company.

A company loses emerging growth company status on the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year of the company during which it had total annual gross revenues of $1.235 billion or more; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year of the issuer following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of common equity securities of the company pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933; (iii) the date on which such company has, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (iv) the date on which such company is deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under Securities and Exchange Commission regulations (generally, at least $700 million of voting and non- voting equity held by non-affiliates).

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is intended to improve corporate responsibility, to provide for enhanced penalties for accounting and auditing improprieties at publicly traded companies and to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures pursuant to the securities laws. We have policies, procedures and systems designed to comply with these regulations, and we review and document such policies, procedures and systems to ensure continued compliance with these regulations.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the following risk factors, in addition to all other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in evaluating an investment in our common stock.

Risks Related to Economic Conditions

A substantial portion of our business is in the New York City Metropolitan area and in Orange, Westchester and Rockland Counties in New York and, therefore, our business is particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn in our primary market area.

We primarily serve individuals, businesses and municipalities located in the New York City metropolitan area and in Orange, Westchester and Rockland Counties, New York. As of December 31, 2023, most of our loan portfolio was secured by real estate and other assets located in these areas in New York. As a result, we are exposed to risks associated with lack of geographic diversification. The occurrence of an economic downturn in these areas, or adverse changes in laws or regulations in New York could impact the credit quality of our assets, the businesses of our customers and ability to expand our business. Our success significantly depends upon the growth in population, income levels, deposits and housing in our market area. If the communities in which we operate do not grow or if prevailing economic conditions locally or nationally are unfavorable, our business may be negatively affected.

In addition, the market value of the real estate securing loans as collateral could be adversely affected by unfavorable changes in market and economic conditions. Adverse developments affecting commerce or real estate values in the local economies in our primary market areas could increase the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio and have an adverse impact on our revenues and financial condition. In particular, we may experience increased loan delinquencies, which could result in a higher provision for credit losses and increased charge-offs. Any sustained period of increased non-payment, delinquencies, foreclosures or losses caused by adverse market or economic conditions in our market area could adversely affect the value of our assets, revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

We have a significant number of loans secured by real estate, and a downturn in the local real estate market could negatively impact our profitability.

At December 31, 2023, approximately $1.4 billion, or 77.0%, of our total loan portfolio was secured by commercial real estate, almost all of which is located in our primary lending market. Future declines in the real estate values in the New York City metropolitan area and in Orange, Westchester and Rockland Counties and surrounding markets could significantly impair the value of the particular collateral securing our loans and our ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure for an amount necessary to satisfy the borrower’s obligations to us. This could require increasing our allowance for credit losses to address the decrease in the value of the real estate securing our loans, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Inflation can have an adverse impact on our business and on our customers.

Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. During 2023, inflation in the United States remained elevated. As a result, the FRB has continued to increase the federal funds rate by an additional 100 basis points in 2023 and has indicated its intention to maintain the increased interest rates in an effort to combat inflation. As inflation increases, the value of our investment securities, particularly those with longer maturities, would decrease, although this effect can be less pronounced for floating rate instruments. In addition, inflation increases the cost of goods and services we use in our business operations, such as electricity and other utilities, which increases our noninterest expenses. Furthermore, our customers are also affected by inflation and the rising costs of goods and services used in their households and businesses could have a negative impact on their ability to repay their loans with us.

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Risks Related to Lending Activities

Our emphasis on commercial real estate loans involves risks that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our loan portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, primarily loans secured by commercial retail space, office buildings and multifamily properties. At December 31, 2023, our commercial real estate loans totaled $1.3 billion, or 72.1%, of our total loan portfolio. Our commercial real estate loans expose us to greater risk of nonpayment and loss than one- to four-family family residential mortgage loans because repayment of the loans often depends on the successful operation and income stream of the borrowers. If we foreclose on these loans, our holding period for the collateral typically is longer than for a one- to four-family residential property because there are fewer potential purchasers of the collateral. Moreover, commercial real estate loans typically involve larger loan balances to single borrowers or groups of related borrowers compared to one- to four-family residential loans. Accordingly, charge-offs on commercial real estate loans may be larger on a per loan basis than those incurred with our residential or consumer loan portfolios. An unexpected adverse development on one or more of these types of loans can expose us to a significantly greater risk of loss compared to an adverse development with respect to a one- to four-family residential mortgage loan.

Imposition of limits by bank regulators on commercial real estate lending activities could curtail our growth and adversely affect our earnings.

In 2006, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) and the FRB (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued joint guidance entitled “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound Risk Management Practices” (the “CRE Guidance”). Although the CRE Guidance did not establish specific lending limits, it provides that a bank’s commercial real estate lending exposure could receive increased supervisory scrutiny where total non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, including loans secured by apartment buildings, investor commercial real estate, and construction and land loans, represent 300% or more of an institution’s total risk-based capital, and the outstanding balance of the commercial real estate loan portfolio has increased by 50% or more during the preceding 36 months. Commercial real estate loans represent 417% of our risk-based capital at December 31, 2023 and the outstanding balance of our commercial real estate loan portfolio has increased by 102% during the 36 months preceding December 31, 2023.

In December 2015, the Agencies released a new statement on prudent risk management for commercial real estate lending (the “2015 Statement”). In the 2015 Statement, the Agencies, among other things, indicate the intent to continue “to pay special attention” to commercial real estate lending activities and concentrations going forward. If the FRB, our primary federal regulator, were to impose restrictions on the amount of such loans we can hold in our portfolio or require us to implement additional compliance measures, for reasons noted above or otherwise, our earnings would be adversely affected as would our earnings per share.

A large portion of our loan portfolio is comprised of commercial and industrial loans secured by receivables, inventory, equipment or other commercial collateral, the deterioration in value of which could increase the potential for future losses.

At December 31, 2023, $274.6 million, or 15.7% of our total loan portfolio, consisted of commercial and industrial loans (including $215 thousand of PPP loans). Our commercial and industrial loans are collateralized by general business assets, including accounts receivable, inventory and equipment and generally backed by a personal guaranty of the borrower or principal. These commercial and industrial loans are typically larger in amount than loans to individuals and, therefore, have the potential for larger losses on a per loan basis.

Further, the repayment of commercial and industrial loans is dependent upon the degree of success of the borrower’s underlying business. The collateral securing such loans may decline in value more rapidly than we anticipate, or may be difficult to market, sell or appraise, exposing us to increased credit risk. Significant adverse changes in the economy or local market conditions in which our commercial lending customers operate could cause rapid declines in loan collectability and the values associated with general business assets, resulting in inadequate collateral coverage that may expose us to credit losses and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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If our allowance for credit losses is not sufficient to cover actual loan losses, our earnings could decrease.

We make various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of many of our loans. In determining the amount of the allowance for credit losses, we review our loans and our loss and delinquency experience, and we evaluate economic conditions. If our assumptions or the results of our analyses are incorrect, our allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in our loan portfolio, resulting in additions to our allowance. In addition, our emphasis on loan growth and on increasing our portfolios of commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loans, as well as any future credit deterioration, could require us to increase our allowance for credit losses in the future. At December 31, 2023, our allowance for credit losses was 1.44% of total loans and 568.8% of nonperforming loans. Material additions to our allowance would materially decrease our net income.

In addition, bank regulators periodically review our allowance for credit losses and, as a result of such reviews, we may be required to increase our provision for credit losses or recognize further loan charge-offs. Any increase in our allowance for credit losses or loan charge-offs as a result of such review or otherwise may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

If our non-performing assets increase, our earnings will be adversely affected.

At December 31, 2023, our non-performing assets, which consist of non-performing loans and other real estate owned, were $4.4 million, or 0.18% of total assets. Our non-performing assets adversely affect our net income in various ways:

•we record interest income only on the cash basis or cost-recovery method for non-accrual loans and we do not record interest income for other real estate owned;

•we must provide for probable loan losses through a current period charge to the provision for credit losses;

•non-interest expense increases when we write down the value of properties in our other real estate owned portfolio to reflect changing market values;

•there are legal fees associated with the resolution of problem assets, as well as carrying costs, such as taxes, insurance, and maintenance fees; and

•the resolution of non-performing assets requires the active involvement of management, which can distract them from more profitable activity.

If additional borrowers become delinquent and do not pay their loans and we are unable to successfully manage our non-performing assets, our losses and troubled assets could increase significantly, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A portion of our loan portfolio consists of loan participations. Loan participations may have a higher risk of loss than loans we originate because we are not the lead lender and we have limited control over credit monitoring.

We participate in commercial real estate loans and commercial and industrial loans with other financial institutions from time to time in which we are not the lead lender. Our commercial real estate loan participations are limited to our geographic lending market which includes, the Hudson Valley, the New York City Metropolitan area, New Jersey and Connecticut. We also occasionally participate in commercial and industrial loans with other financial institutions in which we are not the lead lender. These loans are also limited to our geographic lending market and are generally secured by blanket UCC liens. At December 31, 2023, commercial real estate loan participations, including construction, for which we were not the lead lender totaled $112.2 million, or 10.2% of our commercial real estate loan portfolio, including commercial real estate construction, and commercial and industrial loan participations for which we were not the lead lender totaled $1.5 million, or 0.57% of our commercial and industrial loan portfolio.

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We underwrite each commercial real estate loan and commercial and industrial loan that we participate in and establish the loan classification and loan provision using the same criteria we use for loans we originate. Loan participations may have a higher risk of loss than loans we originate because we rely on the lead lender to service and to monitor the performance of the loan. Moreover, our decisions regarding the classification of a loan participation and loan loss provisions associated with a loan participation are made in part based upon information provided by the lead lender. A lead lender also may not monitor a participation loan in the same manner as we would for loans that we originate. At December 31, 2023, no loan participations were delinquent 60 days or more. If our underwriting of these participation loans is not sufficient, our non-performing loans may increase, and our earnings may decrease.

A portion of our loan portfolio consists of loan purchases we do not service which may have a higher risk of loss than loans we originate because these loans are secured by assets outside our primary market area.

We purchase commercial and industrial loans from time to time outside our market area. We have purchased loans primarily to the medical industry that are secured by UCC blanket liens on all business assets and are distributed throughout the United States. These loan purchases may have a higher risk of loss than loans we originate because they are located outside of our primary market area. All loans purchased are in compliance with our approved underwriting standards specific to purchased loans under this program. These loans may have a higher risk of loss as our decision regarding the classification of these loans and loan loss provisions associated with these loans are made in part based upon information provided by the servicer. At December 31, 2023, our purchased commercial and industrial loans totaled $53.5 million, or 3.1% of our loan portfolio and 19.6% of our commercial and industrial loan portfolio, none of which were delinquent 60 days or more. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we did not purchase any loans from the partially guaranteed consumer loan program. If our underwriting of these purchased loans is not sufficient, our non-performing loans may increase and our earnings may decrease.

Risks Related to Wealth Management

Involvement in wealth management creates risks associated with the industry.

At December 31, 2023, we had approximately $1.6 billion in assets under management. Our wealth management operations with HVIA and our trust and administration services provided through the Bank’s trust services department present special risks not borne by institutions that focus exclusively on other traditional retail and commercial banking products. For example, the investment advisory industry is subject to fluctuations in the stock market that may have a significant adverse effect on transaction fees, client activity and client investment portfolio gains and losses. Also, additional or modified regulations may adversely affect our wealth management and trust services operations. In addition, our wealth management and trust service operations are dependent on a small number of established financial advisors and other service providers, whose departure could result in the loss of a significant number of client accounts. A significant decline in fees and commissions or trading losses suffered in the investment portfolio could adversely affect our income and potentially require the contribution of additional capital to support our operations.

We may not be able to attract and retain wealth management clients.

Due to strong competition, our wealth management business may not be able to attract and retain clients. Competition is strong because there are numerous well-established and successful investment management and wealth advisory firms including commercial banks and trust companies, investment advisory firms, mutual fund companies, stock brokerage firms, and other financial companies. Many of our competitors have greater resources than we have. Our ability to successfully attract and retain wealth management clients is dependent upon our ability to compete with competitors’ investment products, level of investment performance, client services and marketing and distribution capabilities. If we are not successful, our results of operations and financial condition may be negatively impacted.

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The wealth management industry is subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by regulators, and any enforcement action or adverse changes in the laws or regulations governing our business could decrease our revenues and profitability.

The wealth management business is subject to regulation by a number of regulatory agencies that are charged with safeguarding the integrity of the securities and other financial markets and with protecting the interests of customers participating in those markets. In the event of non-compliance with regulation, governmental regulators, including the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, may institute administrative or judicial proceedings that may result in censure, fines, civil penalties, the issuance of cease- and-desist orders or the deregistration or suspension of the non-compliant broker-dealer or investment adviser or other adverse consequences. The imposition of any such penalties or orders could have a material adverse effect on the wealth management segment’s operating results and financial condition. We may be adversely affected as a result of new or revised legislation or regulations. Regulatory changes have imposed and may continue to impose additional costs, which could adversely impact our profitability.

Risks Related to Deposits

We accept deposits that do not have a fixed term and which may be withdrawn by the customer at any time for any reason.

At December 31, 2023, we had $1.8 billion of deposit liabilities that have no maturity and, therefore, may be withdrawn by the depositor at any time. These deposit liabilities include our checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts.

Market conditions may impact the competitive landscape for deposits in the banking industry. The rising interest rate environment and future actions the FRB may take may impact pricing and demand for deposits in the banking industry. The withdrawal of more deposits than we anticipate could have an adverse impact on our profitability as this source of funding, if not replaced by similar deposit funding, would need to be replaced with wholesale funding, the sale of interest-earning assets, or a combination of these two actions. The replacement of deposit funding with wholesale funding could cause our overall cost of funding to increase, which would reduce our net interest income. A loss of interest-earning assets could also reduce our net interest income.

Municipal deposits are an important source of funds for us and a reduced level of those deposits may hurt our profits.

Municipal deposits are a significant source of funds for our lending and investment activities. At December 31, 2023, $270.1 million, or 13.3% of our total deposits, consisted of municipal deposits from local government entities such as county, village and town governments, school districts, fire departments and other municipalities, which are collateralized by investment securities. Given our dependence on high-average balance municipal deposits as a source of funds, our inability to retain such funds could significantly and adversely affect our liquidity. Further, our municipal deposits are primarily demand deposit accounts or short-term time deposits and are therefore more sensitive to interest rate risks. If we are forced to pay higher rates on our municipal accounts to retain those funds, or if we are unable to retain such funds and we are forced to resort to other sources of funds for our lending and investment activities, such as borrowings from the FHLB, the interest expense associated with these other funding sources may be higher than the rates we are currently paying on our municipal deposits, which would adversely affect our net income.

Risks Related to Our Growth Strategy

We may not be able to grow, and if we do we may have difficulty managing that growth.

Our business strategy is to continue to grow our assets and expand our operations, including through potential strategic acquisitions. While we continue to explore acquisition opportunities as they arise, there are no plans or arrangements to make any acquisitions in the near future. Our ability to grow depends, in part, upon our ability to expand our market share, successfully attract core deposits, and to identify loan and investment opportunities as well as opportunities to generate fee-based income. We can provide no assurance that we will be successful in increasing the volume of our loans and deposits at acceptable levels and upon terms acceptable to us. We also can provide no assurance

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that we will be successful in expanding our operations organically or through strategic acquisitions while managing the costs and implementation risks associated with this growth strategy.

We expect to continue to experience growth in the number of our employees and customers and the scope of our operations, but we may not be able to sustain our historical rate of growth or continue to grow our business at all. Our success will depend upon the ability of our officers and key employees to continue to implement and improve our operational and other systems, to manage multiple, concurrent customer relationships, and to hire, train and manage our employees. In the event that we are unable to perform all these tasks and meet these challenges effectively, including continuing to attract core deposits, our operations, and consequently our earnings, could be adversely impacted.

Future acquisitions could disrupt our business and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We may choose to expand by making acquisitions, including other financial institutions, branches or fee- based businesses, that could be material to our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Acquisitions involve many risks, including the following:

•an acquisition may negatively affect our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows because it may require us to incur charges or assume substantial debt or other liabilities, may cause adverse tax consequences or unfavorable accounting treatment, may expose us to claims and disputes by third parties, or may not generate sufficient financial return to offset additional costs and expenses related to the acquisition;

•we may encounter difficulties or unforeseen expenditures in integrating the operations of any company that we acquire, particularly if key personnel of the acquired company decide not to work for us;

•an acquisition may disrupt our ongoing business, divert resources, increase our expenses and distract our management;

•an acquisition may involve the entry into geographic or business markets in which we have little or no prior experience or where competitors have stronger market positions;

•if we incur debt to fund such acquisition, such debt may subject us to material restrictions on our ability to conduct our business as well as financial maintenance covenants; and

•to the extent that we issue a significant amount of equity securities in connection with future acquisitions, existing shareholders may be diluted and earnings per share may decrease.

The occurrence of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Risks Related to Market Interest Rates

We are subject to interest rate risk, and fluctuations in market interest rates may affect our interest margins and income, demand for our products, defaults on loans, loan prepayments and the fair value of our financial instruments.

Our earnings and cash flows depend largely upon our net interest income. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of governmental and regulatory agencies, particularly the Federal Reserve. Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence the interest we receive on loans and investments and the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, which may affect our net interest margins. Such changes could also affect (i) demand for our products and services and price competition, in turn affecting our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits; (ii) the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities; (iii) the average duration of our mortgage-backed securities portfolio and other interest-earning assets; (iv) levels of defaults on loans; and (v) loan prepayments.

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During 2023, in response to accelerated inflation, the Federal Reserve continued to implement monetary tightening policies, resulting in increased interest rates. The Federal Reserve has signaled that interest rates may remain elevated. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings increase at a faster rate than the interest rates received on loans and other investments, our net interest income, and therefore earnings, could be adversely affected. In addition, our net interest margin may contract in a rising rate environment because our funding costs may increase faster than the yield we earn on our interest-earning assets. In a rising rate environment, demand for loans may decrease and loans with adjustable interest rates are more likely to experience a higher rate of default. Additionally, changes in interest rates also affect the fair value of the securities portfolio. Generally, the value of securities moves inversely with changes in interest rates. The combination of these events may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Earnings could also be adversely affected if the interest rates received on loans and other investments fall more quickly than the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. In addition, in a falling rate environment or the recent pandemic-related environment where the Federal Reserve held the federal reference rate near 0.00%, loans may be prepaid sooner than we expect, which could result in a delay between when we receive the prepayment and when we are able to redeploy the funds into new interest-earning assets and in a decrease in the amount of interest income we are able to earn on those assets. If we are unable to manage these risks effectively, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Any substantial, unexpected or prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Also, our interest rate risk modeling techniques and assumptions likely may not fully predict or capture the impact of actual interest rate changes on our balance sheet.

Changes in the valuation of our securities portfolio may reduce our profits and our capital levels.

Our securities portfolio may be affected by fluctuations in market value, potentially reducing accumulated other comprehensive income or earnings. Fluctuations in market value may be caused by changes in market interest rates, lower market prices for securities and limited investor demand. Management evaluates securities for other-than-temporary impairment on a quarterly basis, with more frequent evaluation for selected issues. In analyzing a debt issuer’s financial condition, management considers whether the securities are issued by the federal government or its agencies, whether downgrades by bond rating agencies have occurred, industry analysts’ reports and spread differentials between the effective rates on instruments in the portfolio compared to risk-free rates. Changes in interest rates may also have an adverse effect on our financial condition, as our available-for-sale securities are reported at their estimated fair value, and therefore are affected by fluctuations in interest rates. We increase or decrease our stockholders’ equity by the amount of change in the estimated fair value of the available-for-sale securities, net of taxes. Declines in market value may result in other-than-temporary impairments of these assets, which may lead to accounting charges that could have a material adverse effect on our net income and stockholders’ equity. We also increase or decrease our stockholders’ equity by the amount of change in the fair value of equity securities through net income in the consolidated statement of operations.

On January 1, 2023, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Topic 326, which replaced the incurred loss methodology with CECL for financial instruments measured at amortized cost and other commitments to extend credit. CECL requires the immediate recognition of estimated credit losses expected to occur over the estimated remaining life of the asset. The forward-looking concept of CECL requires loss estimates to consider historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable economic forecasts of future events and circumstances.

Risks Related to Operations and Security

We face significant operational risks because the nature of the financial services business involves a high volume of transactions.

We operate in diverse markets and rely on the ability of our employees and systems to process a high number of transactions. Operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from our operations, including but not limited to, the risk of fraud by employees or persons outside our company, the execution of unauthorized transactions by employees, errors relating to transaction processing and technology, breaches of our internal control systems and compliance requirements.

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Insurance coverage may not be available for such losses, or where available, such losses may exceed insurance limits. This risk of loss also includes the potential legal actions that could arise as a result of operational deficiencies or as a result of non-compliance with applicable regulatory standards, adverse business decisions or their implementation, or customer attrition due to potential negative publicity. In the event of a breakdown in our internal control systems, improper operation of systems or improper employee actions, we could suffer financial loss, face regulatory action, and/or suffer damage to our reputation.

Cyber-attacks or other security breaches could adversely affect our operations, net income or reputation.

We regularly collect, process, transmit and store significant amounts of confidential information regarding our customers, employees and others and concerning our own business, operations, plans and strategies. In some cases, this confidential or proprietary information is collected, compiled, processed, transmitted or stored by third parties on our behalf.

Information security risks have generally increased in recent years because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the Internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct financial and other transactions and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetrators of cyber-attacks and mobile phishing. Mobile phishing, a means for identity thieves to obtain sensitive personal information through fraudulent e-mail, text or voice mail, is an emerging threat targeting the customers of financial entities. A failure in or breach of our operational or information security systems, or those of our third-party service providers, as a result of cyber-attacks or information security breaches or due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions could adversely affect our business, result in the disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, damage our reputation, increase our costs and/or cause losses.

If this confidential or proprietary information were to be mishandled, misused or lost, we could be exposed to significant regulatory consequences, reputational damage, civil litigation and financial loss.

Although we employ a variety of physical, procedural and technological safeguards to protect this confidential and proprietary information from mishandling, misuse or loss, these safeguards do not provide absolute assurance that mishandling, misuse or loss of the information will not occur, and that if mishandling, misuse or loss of information does occur, those events will be promptly detected and addressed. Similarly, when confidential or proprietary information is collected, compiled, processed, transmitted or stored by third parties on our behalf, our policies and procedures require that the third party agree to maintain the confidentiality of the information, establish and maintain policies and procedures designed to preserve the confidentiality of the information, and permit us to confirm the third party’s compliance with the terms of the agreement. As information security risks and cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to continue to enhance our information security measures and/or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities.

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We rely on third party vendors, which could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks.

Third party vendors provide key components of our business infrastructure, including certain data processing and information services. Accordingly, our operations are exposed to risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with our contractual agreements with them, or we also could be adversely affected if such an agreement is not renewed by the third-party vendor or is renewed on terms less favorable to us. If our third-party providers encounter difficulties, or if we have difficulty communicating with those service providers, our ability to adequately process and account for transactions could be affected, and our business operations could be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Threats to information security also exist in the processing of customer information through various other vendors and their personnel. To our knowledge, the services and programs provided to us by third parties have not experienced any material security breaches. However, the existence of cyber-attacks or security breaches at third parties with access to our data, such as vendors, may not be disclosed to us in a timely manner.

We rely heavily on our executive management team and other key employees for our successful operation, and we could be adversely affected by the unexpected loss of their services.

Our success depends in large part on the performance of our key personnel at Orange Bank & Trust Company and HVIA, as well as on our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified senior and middle management and other skilled employees. Competition for employees is intense, and the process of locating key personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to execute our business plan may be lengthy. We may not be successful in retaining our key employees, and the unexpected loss of services of one or more of our key personnel at Orange Bank & Trust Company or HVIA could have a material adverse effect on our business because of their skills, knowledge of our primary markets, years of industry experience and the difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement personnel. If the services of any of our key personnel should become unavailable for any reason, we may not be able to identify and hire qualified persons on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.

Our ability to maintain our reputation is critical to the success of our business, and the failure to do so may materially adversely affect our performance.

We are a community bank and our reputation is one of the most valuable assets of our business. A key component of our business strategy is to rely on our reputation for customer service and knowledge of local markets to expand our presence by capturing new business opportunities from existing and prospective customers in our market area and contiguous areas. As such, we strive to conduct our business in a manner that enhances our reputation. This is done, in part, by recruiting, hiring and retaining employees who share our core values of being an integral part of the communities we serve, delivering superior service to our customers and caring about our customers. If our reputation is negatively affected by the actions of our employees, by our inability to conduct our operations in a manner that is appealing to current or prospective customers, or otherwise, our business and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

Our risk management framework may not be effective in mitigating risk and reducing the potential for significant losses.

Our risk management framework is designed to minimize risk and loss to us. We seek to identify, measure, monitor, report and control our exposure to risk, including strategic, market, liquidity, compliance and operational risks. While we use broad and diversified risk monitoring and mitigation techniques, these techniques are inherently limited because they cannot anticipate the existence or future development of currently unanticipated or unknown risks. Recent economic conditions and heightened legislative and regulatory scrutiny of the financial services industry, among other developments, have increased our level of risk. Accordingly, we could suffer losses if we fail to properly anticipate and manage these risks.

Risks Related to Competitive Matters

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We may be unable to successfully compete with others for business.

The area in which we operate is a highly competitive banking market. We compete for loans and deposits with numerous regional and national banks and other community banking institutions, as well as other kinds of financial institutions and enterprises, such as securities firms, insurance companies, savings associations, credit unions, mortgage brokers and private lenders. The trust department of the Bank competes with national trust companies and local attorneys for fiduciary appointments. In addition, HVIA competes with a multitude of investment companies, from online providers to similarly structured investment advisors. Many competitors have substantially greater resources than we do. The differences in resources may make it harder for us to compete profitably, reduce the rates that we can earn on loans and investments, increase the rates we must offer on deposits and other funds, and adversely affect our overall financial condition and earnings.

The financial services industry could become even more competitive as a result of continuing legislative, regulatory and technological changes and continued industry consolidation. Banks, securities firms and insurance companies can merge under the umbrella of a financial holding company, which can offer virtually any type of financial service, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both agency and underwriting) and merchant banking. Also, technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks, such as automatic transfer and automatic payment systems. Many of our competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and may have lower cost structures. Additionally, due to their size, many competitors may be able to achieve economies of scale and, as a result, may offer a broader range of products and services than we can as well as better pricing for those products and services, as well as better pricing for those products and services than we can.

Risk Related to Laws and Regulations

We operate in a highly regulated environment and may be adversely affected by changes in federal, state and local laws and regulations.

We are subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by the FRB and the NYSDFS. Such regulation, supervision and examination govern the activities in which we may engage, and are intended primarily for the protection of the deposit insurance fund and our depositors and not for the protection of our stockholders. Federal and state regulatory agencies have the ability to take supervisory actions against financial institutions that have experienced increased loan losses and exhibit underwriting or other compliance weaknesses. These actions include the entering into of formal or informal written agreements and cease and desist orders that may place certain limitations on their operations. If we were to become subject to a regulatory action, such action could negatively impact our ability to execute our business plan, and result in operational restrictions, as well as our ability to grow, pay dividends, repurchase stock or engage in mergers and acquisitions. Any change in such regulation and oversight, whether in the form of regulatory policy, regulations, legislation or supervisory action, may have a material impact on our operations. Further, changes in accounting standards can be both difficult to predict and involve judgment and discretion in their interpretation by us and our independent accounting firms. These changes could materially impact, potentially even retroactively, how we report our financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to stringent capital requirements, which may adversely impact our return on equity, require us to raise additional capital, or restrict us from paying dividends or repurchasing shares.

Federal regulations establish minimum capital requirements for insured depository institutions, including minimum risk-based capital and leverage ratios and define what constitutes “capital” for calculating these ratios. The regulations also establish a “capital conservation buffer” of 2.5%, effectively resulting in the following minimum capital ratios after giving effect to the additional capital conservation buffer: (1) a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 7.0%, (2) a Tier 1 to risk-based assets capital ratio of 8.5%, and (3) a total capital ratio of 10.5%. Additionally, if our consolidated assets increase to $3.0 billion or larger, the Company would be subject to consolidated holding company capital requirements similar to those applicable to Orange Bank & Trust Company. The application of such stringent capital requirements could, among other things, result in lower returns on equity, requiring the raising of additional capital, and resulting in regulatory actions constraining us from paying dividends or repurchasing shares if we are unable to comply with such requirements.

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Non-compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, or other laws and regulations could result in fines or sanctions.

The USA PATRIOT and Bank Secrecy Acts require financial institutions to develop programs to prevent financial institutions from being used for money laundering and terrorist activities. If such activities are detected, financial institutions are obligated to file suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These rules require financial institutions to establish procedures for identifying and verifying the identity of customers seeking to open new financial accounts. Failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines or sanctions, including restrictions on conducting acquisitions or establishing new branches. The policies and procedures we have adopted that are designed to assist in compliance with these laws and regulations may not be effective in preventing violations of these laws and regulations.

We are subject to the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) and fair lending laws, and failure to comply with these laws could lead to material penalties.

The CRA, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and other federal and state fair lending laws and regulations impose nondiscriminatory lending requirements on financial institutions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), the United States Department of Justice, the NYSDFS and other federal agencies are responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations. A successful challenge to an institution’s performance under the CRA or fair lending laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including paying damages and civil money penalties, injunctive relief, imposition of restrictions on merger and acquisition activity and restrictions on expansion activity. Private parties may also have the ability to challenge an institution’s performance under fair lending laws in private class action litigation.

The Federal Reserve Board may require us to commit capital resources to support Orange Bank & Trust Company, and we may not have sufficient access to such capital resources.

Federal law requires that a holding company act as a source of financial and managerial strength to its subsidiary bank and to commit resources to support such subsidiary bank. Under the “source of strength” doctrine, the FRB may require a holding company to make capital injections into a troubled subsidiary bank and may charge the holding company with engaging in unsafe and unsound practices for failure to commit resources to a subsidiary bank. A capital injection may be required at times when the holding company may not have the resources to provide it and therefore may be required to attempt to borrow the funds or raise capital. Any loans by a holding company to its subsidiary bank are subordinate in right of payment to deposits and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary bank. In the event of a holding company’s bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee will assume any commitment by the holding company to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of a subsidiary bank. Moreover, bankruptcy law provides that claims based on any such commitment will be entitled to a priority of payment over the claims of the institution’s general unsecured creditors, including the holders of its note obligations. Thus, any borrowing that must be done by the Company to make a required capital injection becomes more difficult and expensive and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, it is possible that we will be unable to borrow funds when we need to do so.

Other Risks Related to Our Business

Liquidity is essential to our businesses.

Liquidity is essential to our business as we must be able to meet the cash needs of borrowers and depositors. Our liquidity could be impaired by an inability to access the capital markets or unforeseen outflows of cash. Reduced liquidity may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us. Our efforts to monitor and manage liquidity risk may not be successful or sufficient to deal with dramatic or unanticipated reductions in our liquidity. In such events, our cost of funds may increase, thereby reducing our net interest income, or we may need to sell a portion of our investment and/or loan portfolio, which, depending upon market conditions, could result in us realizing a loss.

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Public health emergencies, like the COVID-19 outbreak, may have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant economic dislocation in the United States. Certain industries were particularly hard-hit, including the travel and hospitality industry, the restaurant industry, the retail industry, the healthcare industry, restaurants and food services, and entertainment and recreation.

As a result of a public health emergency, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the related adverse local and national consequences, and as a result of governmental, consumer and business responses to any outbreak, we may be subject to the following risks, any of which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, or results of operations: demand for our products and services may decline; if consumer and business activities are restricted, loan delinquencies, problem assets, and foreclosures may increase, resulting in increased charges and reduced income; collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline in value, which could increase loan losses; our allowance for credit losses may have to be increased if borrowers experience financial difficulties; a material decrease in net income or a net loss over several quarters could affect our ability to pay cash dividends; cyber security risks may be increased as the result of an increase in the number of employees working remotely; critical services provided by third-party vendors may become unavailable; government actions and vaccine mandates in response to a pandemic may affect our workforce, human capital resources and infrastructure; and the Company may experience staffing shortages and unanticipated unavailability or loss of key employees, harming our ability to execute our business strategy. Any one or a combination of the foregoing factors could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Legal and regulatory proceedings and related matters could adversely affect us.

We have been and may in the future become involved in legal and regulatory proceedings. We consider most of the proceedings to be in the normal course of our business or typical for the industry; however, it is inherently difficult to assess the outcome of these matters, and we may not prevail in any proceedings or litigation. There could be substantial costs and management diversion in such litigation and proceedings, and any adverse determination could have a materially adverse effect on our business, brand or image, or our financial condition and results of our operations.

We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with lending activities or properties we own.

A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real estate, and we could become subject to environmental liabilities with respect to one or more of these properties, or with respect to properties that we own in operating our business. During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing defaulted loans. In doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous conditions or toxic substances are found on these properties, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage, civil fines and criminal penalties regardless of when the hazardous conditions or toxic substances first affected any particular property. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses to address unknown liabilities and may materially reduce the affected property’s value or limit our ability to use or sell the affected property. In addition, future laws or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws may increase our exposure to environmental liability. Our policies, which require us to perform an environmental review before initiating any foreclosure action on non-residential real property, may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on us.

Societal responses to climate change could adversely affect our business and performance, including indirectly through impacts on our customers.

Concerns over the long-term impacts of climate change have led and will continue to lead to governmental efforts around the world to mitigate those impacts. Consumers and businesses also may change their behavior on their own as a result of these concerns. We and our customers will need to respond to new laws and regulations as well as consumer and business preferences resulting from climate change concerns. We and our customers may face cost increases, asset value reductions and operating process changes. The impact on our customers will likely vary depending on their

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specific attributes, including reliance on or role in carbon intensive activities. Among the impacts to us could be a drop in demand for our products and services, particularly in certain sectors. In addition, we could face reductions in creditworthiness on the part of some customers or in the value of assets securing loans. Our efforts to take these risks into account in making lending and other decisions, including by increasing our business with climate-friendly companies, may not be effective in protecting us from the negative impact of new laws and regulations or changes in consumer or business behavior.

We cannot predict how changes in technology will impact our business; increased use of technology may expose us to service interruptions or breaches in security.

The financial services market, including banking services, is increasingly affected by advances in technology, including developments in:

•Telecommunications;

•Data processing;

•Automation;

•Internet-based banking, including personal computers, mobile phones and tablets;

•Debit cards and so-called “smart cards”;

•Remote deposit capture;

•Artificial Intelligence;

•Cryptocurrency; and

•Use of Blockchain.

Our ability to compete successfully in the future will depend, to a certain extent, on whether we can anticipate and respond to technological changes. We offer electronic banking services for our consumer and business clients via our website, www.orangebanktrust.com, including Internet banking and electronic bill payment, as well as mobile banking by phone. We also offer check cards, ATM cards, credit cards, and automatic and ACH transfers. The successful operation and further development of these and other new technologies will likely require additional capital investments in the future. In addition, increased use of electronic banking creates opportunities for interruptions in service or security breaches, which could expose us to claims by clients or other third parties and damage our reputation. We cannot assure you that we will have sufficient resources or access to the necessary proprietary technology to remain competitive in the future, or that we will be able to maintain a secure electronic environment.

Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock

The price of our common stock could be volatile.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in price in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, among other things:

•general economic conditions and overall market fluctuations;

•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;

•changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;

•the public reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;

•changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts following our stock;

•changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;

•the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies;

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•the trading volume of our common stock;

•new technology used, or services offered, by competitors; and

•changes in business, legal or regulatory conditions, or other developments affecting the financial services industry, participants in our industry, and publicity regarding our business or any of our significant customers or competitors.

The realization of any of the risks described in Item 1A “Risk Factors” section could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and cause the value of your investment to decline. In addition, the stock market experiences extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These types of broad market fluctuations may adversely affect investor confidence and could affect the trading price of our common stock over the short, medium or long term, regardless of our actual performance. We cannot predict the extent to which a more active trading market in our common stock may develop or how liquid that market might become. A public trading market having the desired characteristics of depth, liquidity and orderliness depends upon the presence in the marketplace of willing buyers and sellers of our common stock at any given time, which presence is dependent upon the individual decisions of investors, over which we have no control.

The reduced disclosures and relief from certain other significant disclosure requirements that are available to emerging growth companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that apply to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.” These exemptions include the following:

•not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act;

•less extensive disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements; and

•exemptions from the requirements to hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

We will remain an emerging growth company for up to five years from the end of the year in which we completed our initial public offering, though we may cease to be an emerging growth company earlier under certain circumstances, including if, before the end of such five years, we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC (which depends on, among other things, having a market value of common stock held by non-affiliates in excess of $700 million). Investors and securities analysts may find it more difficult to evaluate our common stock because we will rely on one or more of these exemptions. If, as a result, some investors find our common stock less attractive, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, which could result in a reductions and greater volatility in the prices of our common stock.

Our dividend policy may change without notice and any payment of dividends in the future is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors.

The holders of our common stock will receive cash dividends if and when declared by our board of directors out of legally available funds. Although we have paid a cash dividend for at least 39 consecutive years, we have no obligation to continue paying dividends. Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including our future earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, future prospects, regulatory restrictions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

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Our principal business operations are conducted through our subsidiary, Orange Bank & Trust Company. Cash available to pay dividends to our stockholders is derived primarily, if not entirely, from dividends paid by Orange Bank & Trust Company to us. The ability of Orange Bank & Trust Company to pay dividends to us, as well as our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders, will continue to be subject to, and limited by, certain legal and regulatory restrictions. Further, any lenders making loans to us may impose financial covenants that may be more restrictive with respect to dividend payments than the regulatory requirements.

Our directors and executive officers and members of the Morrison family beneficially own a significant portion of our common stock and have substantial influence over us.

Our directors and executive officers, as a group, beneficially owned approximately 10.9% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2023. To our knowledge, although there is no written agreement between members of the Morrison family to act in concert, relatives of director William D. Morrison and William D. Morrison beneficially owned collectively approximately 24.5% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2023. William D. Morrison beneficially owned approximately 1.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2023. As a result of this level of ownership, our directors and executive officers and members of the Morrison family have the ability, by taking coordinated action, to exercise significant influence over our affairs and policies. The interests of our directors and executive officers and members of the Morrison family may not be consistent with your interests as a stockholder. This influence may also have the effect of delaying or preventing changes of control or changes in management, or limiting the ability of our other stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in the best interests of our Company.

Our common stock is subordinate to our existing and future indebtedness.

Shares of our common stock are equity interests and do not constitute indebtedness. As such, our common stock ranks junior to all our customer deposits and indebtedness, and other non-equity claims on us, with respect to assets available to satisfy claims. In addition, the shares of common stock rank junior to the noteholders of the $20.0 million in subordinated debt that we issued in September 2020.

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, and certain banking laws applicable to us, could have an anti- takeover effect that decreases our chances of being acquired, even if our acquisition is in our shareholders’ best interests.

Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, and federal and state banking laws, including regulatory approval requirements, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of our organization or conduct a proxy contest, even if those events were perceived by many of our shareholders as beneficial to their interests. These provisions, and the corporate and banking laws and regulations applicable to us:

•enable our board of directors to increase the size of the board and fill the vacancies created by the increase;

•provide for the division of the board of directors into three staggered classes so that it would require replacing more than one class of directors to gain control of the board of directors;

•provide that directors may only be removed for cause and by a majority of the votes entitled to be cast;

•enable our board of directors to amend our Bylaws without shareholder approval, subject, however, to the general right of shareholders to change such action in accordance with pertinent sections of the Bylaws and Delaware General Corporation Law;

•require advance notice and certain ownership requirements for director nominations;

•require advance notice for shareholder proposals;

•require the request of record holders of at least 25% of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote at a meeting to call a special shareholders’ meeting;

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•require a supermajority vote of the shareholders to approve a merger with a person owning 10% or more of the Company’s common stock, unless such merger is approved by a supermajority of unaffiliated members of the board of directors; and

•require prior regulatory application and approval of any transaction involving control of our organization.

The foregoing may discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control.

An investment in our common stock is not an insured deposit and is not guaranteed by the FDIC, so you could lose some or all of your investment.

An investment in our common stock is not a deposit account or other obligation of the Bank and, therefore, is not insured against loss or guaranteed by the FDIC, any other deposit insurance fund or by any other governmental, public or private entity. An investment in our common stock is inherently risky for the reasons described herein. As a result, if you acquire our common stock, you could lose some or all of your investment.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

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Item 1C. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy and Governance

Cybersecurity is a material part of Orange County Bancorp’s business. As a financial institution offering products through multiple digital delivery channels, cybersecurity incidents could have a material effect on the Company, its results of operations and its reputation. Although to date the Company has not experienced any cybersecurity event which has had a material effect or is reasonably likely to materially affect the Company’s business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition the impact of a cyber-incident could have a future impact on the results of operations or financial condition of the Company. Cyber-attacks or other security breaches could adversely affect our operations, net income, or reputation.

Cybersecurity risk is initially overseen by bank management through a Cybersecurity Management Committee (“CMC”). The CMC is responsible for the coordination, oversight, and development of the bank-wide cyber security policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures. As part of the oversight responsibilities, the CMC also evaluates cybersecurity exposures ensuring appropriate response and design of controls to mitigate risks as well as monitoring the performance and effectiveness of the overall cybersecurity program. The CMC meetings typically include various department heads from within the organization, but the primary members of the CMC include the following:

•Information Technology Officer, (Chairperson)

•Virtual Chief Information Security Officer

•Bank Secrecy Officer

•Compliance Officer

The Cybersecurity Management Committee operates in connection with the Bank’s Technology Committee (the “Tech Committee” or “TC”). The primary function of the Bank’s Tech Committee is oversight of the Bank’s technology planning and strategy, including cybersecurity and technology trends, major technology investments, and operational performance that may affect the bank. The Technology Committee is comprised of three independent directors, one of which is Committee Chair. In addition to the directors, TC meetings typically include the Chief Information Officer, the Information Technology Officer, the Chief Information Security Officer, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief Risk Officer.

The specific experience of management who oversee cybersecurity are as follows:

• Chief Information Officer (“CIO”) – The CIO has over 15 years of industry experience and has facilitated the management of information security programs at financial institutions during his entire career.

• Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”) - The CISO has over 25 years of broad technology and cyber experience and maintains the following certifications: Certified Information Systems Auditor (“CISA”), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (“CISSP”), and Certified Information Security Manager (“CISM”).

• Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) – The COO’s career has been primarily in bank operations and has participated in end-to-end implementations and upgrades of core banking technology, from vendor selection to managing implementation, to leading enhancement and efficiency initiatives throughout the life of the application.

• Chief Risk Officer (“CRO”) – The CRO oversees entity-wide risk management, including cybersecurity related risk.

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• Information Technology Officer (“ITO”) – The ITO has over 25 years of IT experience and is a technology subject matter expert as well as over 8 years of IT leadership at the Company with over 20 years of financial services experience. The ITO has been responsible for technology strategy, enterprise program management, and IT service management.

In order to ensure that cybersecurity risk management is integrated into the Company’s overall risk management plans, systems and processes, management provides regular reporting to the Board Audit and Risk Committee at least quarterly. In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors receives regular IT updates during its monthly meetings and the Technology Committee minutes are provided to the Board of Directors for review.

The Company’s cybersecurity risk mitigation program involves a combination of internal resources and the use of third parties. Through a third party vendor, the Company’s internal IT team performs monthly vulnerability scanning and performs an annual risk assessment based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework. The results are reported to the Tech Committee. The Company’s IT and compliance staff also review potential cybersecurity threats associated with the Company’s third-party vendors, including performing a review of and obtaining a System of Organization Controls report from all vendors rated as “high risk” by the Company’s internal vendor management program. The Company also has an internal Incident Response Plan and Team, which is charged with overseeing the Company’s response to any cybersecurity incident. The team performs a table-top exercise at least annually to prepare to respond in the event of any actual cybersecurity incident.

In addition to these internal resources, the Company uses a third-party vendor to undertake annual penetration and vulnerability testing, with the results reported to the Tech Committee. Finally, the Company’s cybersecurity compliance program is audited by the Bank’s outsourced internal auditor.

The Company also maintains insurance which may provide coverage for expenses and certain losses incurred in connection with a cybersecurity incident.

Item 2. Properties

We operate from our main office and 15 branch offices. We own our main office in Middletown, New York, and five branch offices located at North Street in Middletown, at Trust Way in Middletown, in Chester, in Newburgh and in Montgomery, New York. We lease nine branch offices located in Goshen, Cortlandt Manor, White Plains, Mamaroneck, New City, Mt. Pleasant, Mount Vernon, Bronx, and Nanuet, and New York. The branches are leased under agreements that may be renewed for varying periods. In addition, HVIA operates from leased offices located in Goshen, New York. At December 31, 2023, the total net book value of our leasehold improvements, furniture, fixtures and equipment was approximately $16.2 million.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are a party to various litigation matters incidental to the conduct of our business. As of December 31, 2023, we do not believe that any currently pending legal proceedings will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The common stock of Orange County Bancorp, Inc. has been listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “OBT” since August 5, 2021. At March 20, 2024, Orange County Bancorp, Inc. had approximately 209 stockholders of record.

Subject to prior approval from our board of directors and regulatory restrictions, we intend to continue the payment of a cash dividend of $0.23 per share on a quarterly basis to holders of our common stock. Our board of directors may change the amount of, or entirely eliminate the payment of, future dividends at its discretion, without notice to our stockholders. We are not obligated to pay dividends on our common stock. Any future determination to pay cash dividends on our common stock will be made by our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including:

•our historical and projected financial condition, liquidity and results of operations;

•our capital levels and requirements;

•statutory and regulatory prohibitions and other limitations;

•any contractual restriction on our ability to pay cash dividends, including pursuant to the terms of any of our credit agreements or other borrowing arrangements;

•our business strategy;

•tax considerations;

•any acquisitions or potential acquisitions that we may examine;

•general economic conditions; and

•other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors.

As a Delaware corporation, we are subject to certain restrictions on dividends under Delaware General Corporation Law. Generally, Delaware law limits cash dividends to a corporation’s capital surplus or, if there is no capital surplus, the corporation’s net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year.

We are also subject to certain restrictions on the payment of cash dividends as a result of banking laws, regulations and policies. The FRB has issued a policy statement regarding the payment of dividends by bank holding companies. In general, the FRB’s policy provides that dividends should be paid only to the extent that the company’s new income for the past two years is sufficient to fund the dividends and only if the prospective rate of earnings retention by the bank holding company appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. The FRB has the authority to prohibit a bank holding company from paying dividends if such payment is deemed to be an unsafe or unsound practice. See “Item 1 Business — Supervision and Regulation — Holding Company Regulation.”

Because we are a bank holding company, we are dependent upon the payment of dividends by Orange Bank & Trust Company and HVIA to us as our principal source of funds to pay dividends in the future, if any, and to make other payments. Orange Bank & Trust Company is also subject to various legal, regulatory and other restrictions on its ability to pay dividends and make other distributions and payments to us. A New York state member bank may generally declare a dividend, without approval from the NYSDFS or the FRB, in an amount equal to its year-to-date net income plus the prior two years’ net income. The NYSDFS and the FRB have the authority to prohibit a New York trust company from paying dividends if such payment is deemed to be an unsafe or unsound practice. In addition, as a

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depository institution the deposits of which are insured by the FDIC, Orange Bank & Trust Company may not pay dividends or distribute any of its capital assets while it remains in default on any assessment due to the FDIC or if in the FDIC’s opinion, the payment of dividends would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice. Orange Bank & Trust Company currently is not (and never has been) in default under any of its obligations to the FDIC. See “Item 1 Business — Supervision and Regulation — Bank Regulation — Dividends.” To pay a cash dividend, a state member bank must also maintain an adequate capital conservation buffer under the capital rules described in “Item 1 Business — Supervision and Regulation — Bank Regulation — Capitalization.”

There were no sales of unregistered securities or repurchases of shares of common stock during the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

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Item 6. Reserved

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and are based on certain assumptions that we believe are reasonable but may prove to be inaccurate. Certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A-Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected results discussed in the forward-looking statements appearing in this discussion and analysis. We assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a bank holding company headquartered in Middletown, New York and registered under the BHC Act. Through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Orange Bank & Trust Company and Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, Inc., we offer full-service commercial and consumer banking products and services and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments and affluent individuals in the Lower Hudson Valley region, the New York metropolitan area and nearby markets in Connecticut and New Jersey. By combining the high-touch service and relationship- based focus of a community bank with the extensive suite of financial products and services offered by our larger competitors, we believe we can capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities available in our market areas. We also offer a variety of deposit accounts to businesses and consumers, including checking accounts and a full line of municipal banking accounts through our business banking platform. These activities, together with our 15 branches and one loan production office, generate a stable source of low- cost core deposits and a diverse loan portfolio with attractive risk-adjusted yields. We also offer private banking services through Orange Bank & Trust Private Banking, a division of Orange Bank & Trust Company, and provide trust and wealth management services through Orange Bank & Trust Company’s trust services department and HVIA, which combined has $1.6 billion in assets under management at December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, our assets, loans, deposits and stockholders’ equity totaled $2.5 billion, $1.7 billion, $2.0 billion and $165.4 million, respectively.

Key Factors Affecting Our Business

Net Interest Income. Net interest income is the most significant contributor to our net income and is the difference between the interest and fees earned on interest-earning assets and the interest expense incurred in connection with interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest income is primarily a function of the average balances and yields of these interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities. These factors are influenced by internal considerations such as product mix and risk appetite as well as external influences such as economic conditions, competition for loans and deposits and market interest rates.

The cost of our deposits and short-term borrowings is primarily based on short-term interest rates, which are largely driven by the FRB’s actions and market competition. The yields generated by our loans and securities are typically affected by short-term and long-term interest rates, which are driven by market competition and market rates often impacted by the FRB’s actions. The level of net interest income is influenced by movements in such interest rates and the pace at which such movements occur.

Interest rates continued to remain elevated in 2023. Based on our asset sensitivity, a steepened yield curve and higher interest rates generally could have a beneficial impact on our net interest income. Conversely, a flat yield curve at lower rates would be expected to have an adverse impact on our net interest income.

Noninterest Income. Noninterest income is also a contributor to our net income. Noninterest income consists primarily of our investment advisory income and trust income generated by HVIA and our trust department. In addition, noninterest income is also impacted by net gains on the sale of investment securities, service charges on deposit accounts, earnings on bank owned life insurance and other fee income consisting primarily of debit card fee income, checkbook fees and rebates and safe deposit box rental income.

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Noninterest Expense. Noninterest expense includes salaries, employee benefits, occupancy, furniture and equipment expense, professional fees, directors’ fees and expenses, computer software expense, Federal deposit insurance assessment, advertising expenses, advisor expenses related to trust income and other expenses. In evaluating our level of noninterest expense we closely monitor our efficiency ratio. The efficiency ratio is calculated by dividing noninterest expense to net interest income plus noninterest income. We continue to seek to identify ways to streamline our business and operate more efficiently.

Concentration of Credit Risk. Most of the Company’s business activity is with customers located within the New York counties of Orange, Westchester, Bronx and Rockland. Therefore, the Company’s exposure to credit risk is significantly affected by changes in the economy in these counties. The Company’s largest loan segment is non-owner occupied commercial real estate. Property types within this segment include: multi- family properties, retail properties, and general construction loans. Regionally, commercial real estate loans are concentrated within the Company’s primary operating footprint, including Orange, Westchester, Rockland and Bronx counties. Commercial and industrial loans are concentrated in Orange County, New York and outside of the Company’s core market, primarily as a result of purchased loans. While industry exposure is widely dispersed, the Company does have a significant concentration of commercial and industrial loans within the healthcare and social assistance industry.

Credit Quality. We have well established loan policies and underwriting practices that have resulted in very low levels of charge-offs and nonperforming assets. We strive to originate quality loans that will maintain the credit quality of our loan portfolio. However, credit trends in the markets in which we operate are largely impacted by economic conditions beyond our control and can adversely impact our financial condition.

Competition. The industry and businesses in which we operate are highly competitive. We may see increased competition in different areas including interest rates, underwriting standards and product offerings and structure. While we seek to maintain an appropriate return on our investments, we anticipate that we will experience continued pressure on our net interest margins as we operate in this competitive environment.

Economic Conditions. Our business and financial performance are affected by economic conditions generally in the United States and more directly in the market of the Lower Hudson Valley region, the New York metropolitan area and nearby markets in Connecticut and New Jersey where we primarily operate.

The significant economic factors that are most relevant to our business and our financial performance include, but are not limited to, real estate values, interest rates and unemployment rates.

Regulatory Trends. We operate in a highly regulated environment and nearly all of our operations are subject to extensive regulation and supervision. Bank or securities regulators, Congress, the State of New York and the NYSDFS may revise the laws and regulations applicable to us, may impose new laws and regulations, increase the level of scrutiny of our business in the supervisory process, and pursue additional enforcement actions against financial institutions. Future legislative and regulatory changes such as these may increase our costs and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The legislative and regulatory trends that will affect us in the future are impossible to predict with any certainty.

Critical Accounting Estimates

A summary of our accounting policies is described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Critical accounting estimates are necessary in the application of certain accounting policies and procedures and are particularly susceptible to significant change. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those involving significant judgments and assumptions by management that could have a material impact on the carrying value of certain assets or on income under different assumptions or conditions. These critical estimates and their application are periodically reviewed with the Audit Committee and the board of directors.

Management believes that the most critical accounting estimate, which involves the most complex or subjective decisions or assessments, is as follows:

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Allowance for Credit Losses. Management believes that the determination of the allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) involves a high degree of complexity and requires management to make difficult and subjective judgments, which often require assumptions or estimates about highly uncertain matters. Changes in these judgments, assumptions or estimates could materially impact Orange County Bancorp’s results of operations.

On January 1, 2023, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13 (Topic 326), which replaced the incurred loss methodology with CECL for financial instruments measured at amortized cost and other commitments to extend credit. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation allowance for management’s estimate of expected credit losses in the loan portfolio. The process to determine expected credit losses utilizes analytic tools and judgement and is reviewed on a quarterly basis. When management is reasonably certain that a loan balance is not fully collectable, an analysis is completed and a individual reserve may be established or a full or partial charge off could be recorded against the allowance. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. Management estimates the allowance balance via a quantitative analysis which considers available information from internal and external sources related to past loan loss and prepayment experience and current conditions, as well as the incorporation of reasonable and supportable forecasts. Management evaluates a variety of factors including available published economic information in arriving at its forecast. Expected credit losses are estimated over the contractual term of the loans, adjusted for expected prepayments when appropriate. Also included in the allowance for credit losses are qualitative reserves that are expected, but, in management’s assessment, may not be adequately represented in the quantitative analysis or the forecasts described above. Factors may include changes in lending policies and procedures, size and composition of the portfolio, experience and depth of management and the effect of external factors such as competition, legal and regulatory requirements, among others. The allowance is available for any loan that, in management’s judgment, should be charged off. Although management uses the best information available, the level of the allowance for credit losses remains an estimate, which is subject to significant judgment and short-term change. The ACL model considers the effects of past events, current conditions, as well as reasonable and supportable forecasts when estimating the required level. Some of the components relied upon in determining the amount of the ACL, which require judgment, include, but are not limited to, segmentation requirements, qualitative factor attributes, peer group selection, regression models, and default probability assumptions. Each of these, and other qualitative characteristics could impact the determination of the ACL. Various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review the Bank’s allowance for credit losses. Such agencies may require the Company to make additional provisions for credit losses based upon information available to them at the time of their examination. Furthermore, the majority of the Bank’s loans are secured by real estate in the State of New York. Accordingly, the collectability of a substantial portion of the carrying value of the Bank’s loan portfolio is susceptible to changes in local market conditions and any adverse economic conditions. Future adjustments to the provision for credit losses and allowance for credit losses may be necessary due to economic, operating, regulatory and other conditions beyond the Company’s control.

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Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition

Summary Financial Condition. The following table sets forth a summary of the material categories of our balance sheet at the dates indicated:

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Assets. Our total assets were $2.5 billion at December 31, 2023, an increase of $198.1 million from $2.3 billion at December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to increased net loan growth of approximately $174.3 million, or 11.3%, during the year. The increase in assets also included an increase in cash and due from banks of $61.3 million, or 71.2%. During the 2023 fiscal year, investment securities decreased by $43.5 million, or 8.2%. This decrease represents management’s continued focus on liquidity and the maturities were primarily used to increase the Bank’s cash position.

Cash and due from banks. Cash and due from banks increased $61.3 million, or 71.2%, to $147.4 million at December 31, 2023 from $86.1 million at December 31, 2022. The increase was driven by a strategic focus to increase cash balances, even through borrowings in order to maintain greater on-hand cash levels during a period of industry liquidity concerns.

Loans. The following table sets forth the composition of our loan portfolio by type of loan at the dates indicated.

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Net loans increased $174.3 million, or 11.3%, to $1.7 billion at December 31, 2023 from $1.6 billion at December 31, 2022 primarily due to increases in commercial real estate loans, consumer loans and commercial and industrial loans. Commercial real estate loans increased $161.3 million, or 14.7%, to $1.26 billion at December 31, 2023 from $1.10 billion at December 31, 2022 primarily as a result of continued loan demand by our commercial real estate customers and developers, along with our strategy to expand commercial real estate lending in our market area. Consumer loans increased $20.3 million, or 124.3%, to $36.6 million at December 31, 2023 from $16.3 million at December 31, 2022.

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Commercial and industrial loans increased $16.2 million, or 6.3% to $273.3 million at December 31, 2023 from $257.2 million at December 31, 2022. PPP loans decreased $1.5 million, or 87.5%, to $215 thousand at December 31, 2023 from $1.7 million at December 31, 2022 due to loan forgiveness by the SBA throughout 2023.

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Loan Portfolio Maturities. The following table sets forth the contractual maturities of our total loan portfolio at December 31, 2023. Demand loans, loans having no stated repayment schedule or maturity, and overdraft loans are reported as being due in one year or less. The table presents contractual maturities and does not reflect repricing or the effect of prepayments. Maturities are based on the final contractual payment date and do not reflect the impact of prepayments and scheduled principal amortization.

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The following table sets forth the principal balance of fixed and adjustable-rate loans at December 31, 2023 that are contractually due after December 31, 2024: