CHEMUNG FINANCIAL CORP : Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition andResults of Operations (form 10-Q)

Published: 2022-05-12 14:19:04 ET CHMG

Introduction

The following is the MD&A of the Corporation in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021. Reference should be made to the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements and footnotes, and the Corporation's 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 23, 2022, for an understanding of the following discussion and analysis. See the list of commonly used abbreviations and terms on pages 3-6.

The MD&A included in this Form 10-Q contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Corporation's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of those risks and uncertainties and the factors that could cause the Corporation's actual results to differ materially from those risks and uncertainties, see Forward-looking Statements below, in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors and on pages 20-31 of the Corporation's 2021 Form 10-K. For a discussion of the use of non-GAAP financial measures, see pages 64-67 of the Corporation's 2021 Form 10-K, and pages 59-62 in this Form 10-Q.

The Corporation has been a financial holding company since 2000, the Bank was established in 1833, CFS in 2001, and CRM in 2016. Through the Bank and CFS, the Corporation provides a wide range of financial services, including demand, savings and time deposits, commercial, residential and consumer loans, interest rate swaps, letters of credit, wealth management services, employee benefit plans, insurance products, mutual funds and brokerage services. The Bank relies substantially on a foundation of locally generated deposits. The Corporation, on a stand-alone basis, has minimal results of operations. The Bank derives its income primarily from interest and fees on loans, interest income on investment securities, WMG fee income, and fees received in connection with deposit and other services. The Bank's operating expenses are interest expense paid on deposits and borrowings, salaries and employee benefit plans, and general operating expenses. CRM is a Nevada-based captive insurance company which insures against certain risks unique to the operations of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and for which insurance may not be currently available or economically feasible in today's insurance marketplace. CRM pools resources with several other similar insurance company subsidiaries of financial institutions to spread a limited amount of risk among themselves.

Forward-looking Statements

This discussion contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. The Corporation intends its forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in these sections. All statements regarding the Corporation's expected financial position and operating results, the Corporation's business strategy, the Corporation's financial plans, forecasted demographic and economic trends relating to the Corporation's industry and similar matters are forward-looking statements. These statements can sometimes be identified by the Corporation's use of forward-looking words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," or "intend." The Corporation cannot guarantee that its expectations in such forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct. The Corporation's actual results could be materially different from expectations because of various factors, including changes in economic conditions or interest rates, credit risk, inflation, cyber security risks, COVID-19, difficulties in managing the Corporation's growth, competition, changes in law or the regulatory environment, and changes in general business and economic trends.

Information concerning these and other factors, including Risk Factors, can be found in the Corporation's periodic filings with the SEC, including the discussion under the heading "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Corporation's 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These filings are available publicly on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov, on the Corporation's web site at http://www.chemungcanal.com or upon request from the Corporate Secretary at (607) 737-3746. Except as otherwise required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Critical accounting estimates include the areas where the Corporation has made what it considers to be particularly difficult, subjective or complex judgments concerning estimates, and where these estimates can significantly affect the Corporation's financial results under different assumptions and conditions. The Corporation prepares its financial statements in conformity with GAAP. As a result, the Corporation is required to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that it believes are reasonable based upon the information available at that time. These estimates, judgments and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. Actual results could be different from these estimates.

Allowance for Loan Losses

Actual loss experience is supplemented with other qualitative factors based on the risks present for each portfolio class. These qualitative factors include consideration of the following: (1) lending policies and procedures, including underwriting standards and collection, charge-off and recovery policies, (2) national and local economic and business conditions and developments, including the condition of various market segments, and more recently the expected impact of COVID-19 on the various portfolios, (3) loan profiles and volume of the portfolio, (4) the experience, ability, and depth of lending management and staff, (5) the volume and severity of past due, classified and watch-list loans, non-accrual loans, troubled debt restructurings, and other modifications (6) the quality of the Bank's loan review system and the degree of oversight by the Bank's Board of Directors, (7) collateral related issues: secured vs. unsecured, type, declining valuation environment and trend of other related factors, (8) the existence and effect of any concentrations of credit, and changes in the level of such concentrations, (9) the effect of external factors, such as competition and legal and regulatory requirements, on the level of estimated credit losses in the Bank's current portfolio and (10) the impact of the global economy, including the impact of COVID-19.

While management's current evaluation of the allowance for loan losses indicates that the allowance is adequate, under adversely different conditions or assumptions the allowance would need to be increased. For example, if historical loan loss experience significantly worsened or if current economic conditions significantly deteriorated, additional provisions for loan losses would be required to increase the allowance. In addition, the assumptions and estimates used in the internal reviews of the Corporation's non-performing loans and potential problem loans, and the associated evaluation of the related collateral coverage for these loans, has a significant impact on the overall analysis of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses. Real estate values in the Corporation's market area did not increase dramatically in the prior several years, and, as a result, any declines in real estate values have been modest. While management has concluded that the current evaluation of collateral values is reasonable under the circumstances, if collateral evaluations were significantly lowered, the Corporation's allowance for loan losses policy would also require additional provisions for loan losses. The determination of the allowance also includes an evaluation of non-impaired loans and is based on historical loss experience adjusted for current factors.

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