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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Year Ended December 31, 2019

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission file number 001-38317

Luther Burbank Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



California (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		68-0270948 (I.R.S. employer identification number)

520 Third St, Fourth Floor, Santa Rosa, California (Address of principal executive offices)		95401 (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (844) 446-8201



Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act
Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common stock, no par value	LBC	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES o NO x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES o NO x

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

Indicate by checkmark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). YES x NO o

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



Large accelerated filer	o	Accelerated filer	x
Non-accelerated filer	o	Smaller Reporting Company	x
		Emerging Growth Company	x

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. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act): Yes o No x

As of June 30, 2019, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of its common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $164.2 million based on the closing price per share of common stock of $10.89 on June 30, 2019.

As of March 2, 2020, there were 56,157,216 shares of the registrant’s common stock, no par value, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement to be distributed on behalf of the Board of Directors of Registrant in connection with the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 28, 2020 and any adjournment thereof, are incorporated by reference in Part III.

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		Page
	Part I
Item 1.	Business	4
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	12
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	29
Item 2.	Properties	29
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	29
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	29
	Part II
Item 5.	Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	30
Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	34
Item 7.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	35
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	63
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	67
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	113
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	113
Item 9B.	Other Information	113
	Part III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	114
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	114
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	114
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	114
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	114
	Part IV
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statements Schedules	115
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	117
	Signatures	118

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

All references to ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘our,’’ ‘‘us,’’ ‘‘Luther Burbank Corporation’’ or ‘‘the Company’’ refers to Luther Burbank Corporation, a California corporation, and our consolidated subsidiaries, including Luther Burbank Savings, a California banking corporation, unless the context indicates that we refer only to the parent company, Luther Burbank Corporation. ‘‘Bank’’ or ‘‘LBS’’ refers to Luther Burbank Savings, our banking subsidiary.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains a number of forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and our results of operations, financial condition and financial performance. These statements may be identified by use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," “continue,” "could," "estimate," "expect," “impact,” "intend," "seek," "may," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. 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 such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions 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.

There are numerous, important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following:


•	business and economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry, nationally and within our current and future geographic markets;


•	economic, market operational, liquidity, credit and interest rate risks associated with our business;


•	the occurrence of significant natural or man-made disasters, including fires, earthquakes and terrorist acts, as well as public health issues and other adverse external events that could harm our business;


•	our management of risks inherent in our real estate loan portfolio, and the risk of a prolonged downturn in the real estate market, which could impair the value of our collateral and our ability to sell collateral upon any foreclosure;


•	our ability to achieve organic loan and deposit growth and the composition of such growth;


•	the fiscal position of the U.S. and the soundness of other financial institutions;


•	changes in consumer spending and savings habits;


•	technological changes;


•	the laws and regulations applicable to our business, and the impact of recent and future legislative and regulatory changes;

•

changing bank regulatory conditions, policies or programs, whether arising as new legislation or regulatory initiatives, that could lead to restrictions on activities of banks generally, or our subsidiary bank in particular, more restrictive regulatory capital requirements, increased costs, including deposit insurance premiums, regulation or prohibition of certain income producing activities or changes in the secondary market for loans and other products;


•	increased competition in the financial services industry;


•	changes in the level of our nonperforming assets and charge-offs;


•	our involvement from time to time in legal proceedings and examinations and remedial actions by regulators;


•	the composition of our management team and our ability to attract and retain key personnel;


•	material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting;


•	systems failures or interruptions involving our information technology and telecommunications systems;


•	potential exposure to fraud, negligence, computer theft and cyber-crime;


•	the obligations associated with being a public company;


•	failure to adequately manage the transition from LIBOR as a reference rate; and

•

the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices or accounting standards, as may be adopted from time-to-time by bank regulatory agencies, the SEC, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the FASB or other accounting standards setters, including ASU 2016-13 (Topic 326), “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” commonly referenced as the Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) model, which will change how we estimate credit losses and may increase the required level of our allowance for credit losses after adoption on January 1, 2023.

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The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with the other cautionary statements included in this Annual Report. 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 or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which will arise. 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.

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PART I.

Item 1. Business

General

Luther Burbank Corporation is a bank holding company incorporated on May 14, 1991 under the laws of the state of California and is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. The Company operates primarily through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Luther Burbank Savings, a California banking corporation originally chartered in 1983 in Santa Rosa, California. The Bank conducts its business from its new headquarters in Gardena, CA.

The Company also owns Burbank Financial Inc., a real estate investment company, and Luther Burbank Statutory Trusts I and II, entities created to issue trust preferred securities.

The Company's principal business is attracting deposits from the general public and investing those funds in a variety of loans, including permanent mortgage loans and construction loans secured by residential, multifamily, and commercial real estate. The Company specializes in real estate secured lending in metropolitan areas along the West Coast and has developed expertise in multifamily residential, jumbo nonconforming single family residential and commercial real estate lending.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

We qualify as an ‘‘emerging growth company’’ under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the "JOBS Act"). An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting requirements and is relieved of other significant requirements that are otherwise generally applicable to other public companies. Among other factors, as an emerging growth company:


•	we may present less than five years of selected financial data;


•	we are exempt from the requirement to provide an opinion from our auditors on the design and operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;


•	we may choose not to comply with any new requirements adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB");


•	we are permitted to provide less extensive disclosure regarding our executive compensation arrangements pursuant to the rules applicable to smaller reporting companies, which means we do not have to include a compensation discussion and analysis and other disclosure regarding our executive compensation in this Annual Report; and


•	we are not required to hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements.

We can elect to opt out of the extended transition period for adopting any new or revised accounting standards. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we may adopt the standard for the private company.

We may take advantage of these provisions for up to five years from the date of our IPO unless we earlier cease to qualify as an emerging growth company. We will cease to qualify as an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual gross revenues, as that amount may be periodically adjusted by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), we become a ‘‘large accelerated filer,’’ including having more than $700.0 million in market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates, or we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in a three-year period.

We expect to take advantage of the reduced reporting and other requirements of the JOBS Act with respect to the periodic reports we will file with the SEC and proxy statements that we use to solicit proxies from our shareholders.

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Business Strategies

We intend to continue executing our strategic plan by focusing on the following key objectives:

•

Continued organic lending growth in our existing markets. Our primary focus is to grow our client base within our strategic markets and to expand the penetration of our existing multifamily, single family and commercial real estate lending activities within these markets on the West Coast, which have strong job growth, strong economic growth and limited affordable housing. These markets include all major metropolitan markets between Seattle and San Diego. The high cost of living and high barriers to entry make these markets attractive for investments in affordable rental housing for low- and middle-income tenants. Robust job markets, strong single family residential demand, high average housing costs, and concentrations of professional, highly skilled and high income workers, entrepreneurs and other high net worth individuals make our markets ideal for our portfolio single family residential lending activities.

We believe we have a competitive advantage over larger national financial institutions, which lack our level of personalized service, and over smaller community banks, which lack our product and market expertise. We intend to capture additional market share by deepening our relationships with current customers and supporting our bankers in their pursuit of new customers in our target markets. We will also consider the opportunistic lift-out of key personnel or teams from other financial institutions. We believe that our stable, income producing property focus and our existing customer profile lends itself to expanded lending in our existing markets.

•

Deepen client relationships and grow our deposit base. We provide a high level of customer service to our depositors. Our historical focus for our deposit production activities was exclusively on individual savings deposits from high net worth, primarily self-employed individuals, entrepreneurs and professionals, and we did not emphasize transactional accounts. This strategy has produced a stable customer base. We have expanded our focus in recent years, and invested in personnel, business and compliance processes and technology that enable us to acquire, and efficiently and effectively serve, a wider array of consumer transactional accounts and business deposit accounts while continuing to provide the level of customer service for which we are known to our consumer depositors. We have also increased outreach in high-density, small to medium sized business markets where the Bank already operates. We also provide comprehensive online and mobile banking products to our business and consumer depositors to complement our branch network.

We believe that our current customer base contains additional untapped cross-selling opportunities. We plan to continue to grow our non-brokered, consumer and business deposits by:


•	cross-selling business deposit relationships to our existing consumer customers who are business operators;


•	cross-selling business and consumer accounts to our multifamily and single family loan borrowers;


•	obtaining new individual and business customers, including specialty deposit customers, such as fiduciary service providers,1031 exchange companies, unions, homeowners associations and nonprofits;


•	increasing our digital market presence including the use of social media; and


•	continuing to evaluate new branches, via de novo activity and/or acquisition, in key markets on the West Coast.

We will also continue to cross-sell existing customers, and solicit new ones, for additional lending opportunities in our markets, and to develop niche verticals, where our credit underwriting expertise and efficient operations can yield an attractive risk-adjusted return. Our cross-selling efforts to existing customers will be strategically targeted, based on our in depth analyses of our customers’ overall financial profile, cash flows, financial resources and banking requirements.

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•

Disciplined credit quality and robust risk management. We are committed to being a high performing organization, and as we continue to grow our loan portfolio, we will do so in a disciplined manner. Risk management is a core competency of our business, demonstrated by the strong credit performance of our portfolio. We have comprehensive policies and procedures for credit underwriting, monitoring our loan portfolio and internal risk management including managing our interest rate risk, compliance risk, reputation risk, legal risk and other risks inherent in our operations. The sound credit practices followed by our bankers allow credit decisions to be made efficiently and consistently. We attribute our success to a strong credit culture, the continuous evaluation of risk and return and the strict separation between business development and credit decision making, coupled with a robust risk management framework. Our focus on credit and risk management has enabled us to grow our balance sheet successfully while maintaining strong asset quality.

•

Disciplined cost management. We intend to continue to foster a culture of efficiency through hands-on management, prudent expense management, and a small number of large deposit balance branches. With a renewed emphasis on process improvements, we believe that we can support continued growth in assets, customers and our geographic footprint without significant additional investment in our infrastructure or significant expansion of our personnel. We believe that our existing network of branches and loan production offices, as well as non-branch and online customer and deposit development activities, have significant potential to continue to grow loan and deposit balances. We will continue to be highly selective as we explore opportunities for establishing additional strategically located branches in markets which present significant opportunity for multifamily and commercial real estate lending, single family residential lending, and high net worth consumer and business banking relationships.

Market Area

Our operations are concentrated in demographically desirable and fast growing major metropolitan areas on the West Coast located in the states of California, Washington and Oregon. Including the January 2020 opening of our branch in El Segundo, California, we have ten full service branches in California located in Sonoma, Marin, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles Counties and one full service branch in Washington located in King County. We also operate seven loan production offices located throughout California, as well as a loan production office in Clackamas County, Oregon. We are most active in the following metropolitan areas: Santa Rosa (Sonoma County), Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, and Seattle. We are seeking to more deeply penetrate these core markets, and contiguous major metropolitan markets that share key demographic characteristics with our core markets, solidifying our Seattle to San Diego footprint.

Competition

We operate in a highly competitive industry and in highly competitive markets throughout the West Coast. While our commercial real estate and jumbo single family residential focuses require significant expertise to perform efficiently, competition in commercial real estate lending is keen from large banking institutions with national operations, and mid-sized regional banking institutions, while in the single family lending market, we face competition from a wide array of institutions. We compete with other community banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, mortgage companies, insurance companies, finance companies, as well as other kinds of financial institutions and enterprises, such as securities firms, insurance companies, private lenders and nontraditional competitors such as fintech companies and internet-based lenders, depositories and payment systems. The primary factors driving competition for deposits are customer service, interest rates, fees charged, branch locations and hours, online and mobile banking functionality, the range of products offered and the reputation/public perception of an institution. The primary factors driving competition for our lending products are customer service, range of products offered, price, reputation, and quality of execution. We believe the Bank is a strong competitor in our markets; however, other competitors have advantages over us. Among the advantages that many of these large institutions have over the Bank are their abilities to finance extensive advertising campaigns, maintain extensive branch networks, make larger technology investments and to offer services that we do not offer. The higher capitalization of the larger institutions permits them to provide higher lending limits than we can, although our current lending limit is able to accommodate the credit needs of most of our borrowers. Some of these competitors have other advantages, such as tax exemption in the case of credit unions, and to some extent, lesser regulation in the case of mortgage companies and finance companies.

Our primary multifamily competitor is JPMorgan Chase & Co. Additional competitors include, but are not limited to, Opus Bank, First Foundation, Inc., Homestreet Bank and Umpqua Bank. Our primary single family lending competitors in our markets are MUFG Union Bank, N.A., Fremont Bank, WaFd Bank, various non-bank mortgage lenders, and

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large national banks. Our primary deposit competitors are local regional banks, community banks, numerous credit unions and large national banks.

Lending Activities

The primary components of our loan portfolio are multifamily and commercial real estate loans and single family residential loans, primarily jumbo loans which do not meet the requirements for conforming loans.


•	Multifamily and Commercial Real Estate Lending.

Our commercial real estate loans consist primarily of first mortgage loans made for the purpose of purchase, refinance or build-out of tenant improvements on investor owned multifamily residential (five or more units) properties. We also provide loans for the purchase, refinance or improvement of office, retail and light industrial properties.

Our underwriting guidelines for multifamily and other commercial real estate loans require a thorough analysis of the financial performance, cash flows, loan to value and debt service coverage ratios, as well as the physical characteristics, of the property being financed and which will stand as collateral for the loan, as well as the financial condition and global cash flows of the borrower and any guarantor or other secondary source of repayment. We also closely review the experience of the borrower and its principals in the ownership, successful management and financing of multifamily residential rental properties or other rental commercial real estate, as well as their reputation for quality business practices and financial responsibility.

The location of the property is a primary factor in the Bank’s multifamily lending. We focus on markets with a high barrier to entry for new development, where there is a limited supply of new housing and where there is a high variance between the cost to rent and the cost to own. Our core lending areas are currently defined as:


•	Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Sonoma and Ventura counties in California;


•	Clark, King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties in Washington; and


•	Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties in Oregon.

Our extended core lending areas are currently defined as:


•	El Dorado, Monterey, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz and Solano counties in California;


•	Spokane and Thurston counties in Washington; and


•	Lane and Marion counties in Oregon.

We may re-evaluate and revise the definitions of our core and extended core areas from time to time. Non-core markets include all markets in California, Oregon or Washington not categorized as core or extended core.

We make multifamily loans on a recourse or nonrecourse basis. We may require borrowers to provide personal guarantees in a variety of circumstances, including where a borrower lacks sufficient property ownership and management experience, or where specific loan characteristics do not meet our stringent underwriting criteria, including but not limited to loans with higher loan to value ratios or lower debt service coverage ratios. Loans on other commercial real estate are generally made on a comparable basis.

Our multifamily loans typically have a 30-year term, while our nonresidential commercial property loans have a 30-year amortization period, and are typically due in ten years. For commercial real estate, we offer adjustable rate loans based on Treasury indices, with an adjustable rate, 5-year hybrid product being our most common multifamily loan product type. Historically, our multifamily adjustable rate loans were originated primarily using the LIBOR index; however, use of this index was discontinued during 2019. We seek to have interest rates on all of our commercial loans adjust or reprice no later than seven years after origination, and quarterly or semi-annually thereafter, but our ability to obtain this term is subject to the effects of market competition, customer preferences and other factors beyond our control.

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Our multifamily loans and other commercial real estate loans are primarily originated on a retail basis, through the marketing efforts of our bankers and loan production offices, and to a lesser extent, are originated on a wholesale basis, through a network of brokers. We intend to maintain a balance of both retail and wholesale loan originations, while tailoring our approach to the characteristics of each particular market. While our multifamily and other commercial real estate loans are generally held in portfolio, we may at times sell pools of loans as a means of managing our loan product concentrations, liquidity position, capital levels and/or interest rate risk.


•	Single Family Residential Lending.

Our single family residential lending provides loans for the purchase or refinance of 1-4 family residential properties. The financed properties may be owner-occupied, or investor owned, and may be a primary residence, a second home or vacation property, or an investment property.

We currently originate substantially all of our single family residential loans through a network of wholesale brokers. We monitor and regularly review our broker relationships for regulatory compliance, integrity, competence, level of activity and profitability. The primary products offered are 3, 5, and 7-year variable rate hybrid loans, as well as the Grow and Daisy loan products described below.

The markets in which we make single family residential loans have historically been the same core and extended core markets in which we make multifamily residential and commercial real estate loans. These areas have been characterized by robust job markets, strong single family residential demand, high average housing cost, and concentrations of professional, highly skilled and high income workers, entrepreneurs and other high net worth individuals. These characteristics have provided a strong market for our jumbo mortgage products. In late 2019, we refocused our single family residential originations in our core lending areas. Our loans are underwritten to our financial parameters of loan to value and debt to income ratios. Our underwriting includes a thorough analysis of the borrower’s ability to repay the loan, based on reviews of information regarding the borrower’s income, cash flow and wealth. This analysis enables us to provide loans to professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs who may not have a constant, readily documentable earnings stream, but substantial assets, income and wealth. Our platform and niche lending offerings are designed to meet the needs of the high demand, low supply residential real estate market in high cost market areas, and are focused on delivering consistent certainty of execution. Our single family residential loans are generally held in portfolio, although we reserve the right to sell any loan at any time.


•	Grow and Daisy.

We also offer innovative mortgage products, including a portfolio 30-year fixed rate first mortgage and a forgivable second mortgage, to low- and moderate-income borrowers designed to make home ownership possible and affordable even in our high cost markets. Our ‘‘Grow’’ program is designed as a conventional, community lending mortgage, up to the conforming loan amount, that offers underwriting flexibility to low- and moderate-income borrowers and borrowers purchasing properties located in a low- or moderate- income communities. Loans in this program are 30-year fixed rate mortgages made on owner-occupied single family (one and two unit) properties, including condominiums. Pricing on this product is competitive at market rate.

In conjunction with the Grow program, we also offer a down payment and closing cost assistance product, called ‘‘Daisy.’’ Under the Daisy program, eligible borrowers may take advantage of our second lien loan that provides up to two percent of the purchase price with an additional one percent for non-recurring closing costs to assist first time homebuyers when utilizing Grow, our first lien program. The loan has a term of 36 months with no payment required during the term of the Daisy loan. Daisy loans are not recorded as assets, but are instead expensed upon origination given their fully forgivable nature.

Loans under the Grow and Daisy programs help meet compelling needs in our communities, but may be associated with higher loan to value and combined loan to value ratios when compared to standard portfolio products.

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Investment Activities

Our investment securities portfolio is primarily maintained as an on-balance sheet contingent source of liquidity. It provides additional interest income and has limited interest rate risk and credit risk. Other than certain securities purchased for CRA purposes, we generally classify all of our investment securities as available-for-sale. Our investment policy authorizes investment primarily in U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. Agency mortgage and loan backed securities and certain CRA qualifying investments. For purposes of our investment policy, U.S. Agencies are the Small Business Administration ("SBA"), the National Credit Union Administration ("NCUA"), the Government National Mortgage Association ("GNMA"), Freddie Mac, the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") and the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation. Securities issued by the SBA, NCUA and GNMA are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government.

Funding Activities

Deposits.

We offer a wide array of deposit products for individuals and businesses, including interest and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposit ("CD") and money market accounts. We provide a high level of customer service to our depositors. As a means of supplementing our strategically limited branch network, we offer our customers unlimited free access to ATM machines worldwide. Our strategy has produced a stable customer and depositor base. 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.

Our deposits are currently acquired primarily through our branch network on a retail basis from high net worth individuals, professionals and their businesses, who value our financial strength, stability, high level of service and competitive interest rates. We have expanded our focus to leverage our relationships and serve business and individuals with a broader array of deposit and cash management products. We intend to increase our digital marketing presence to attract deposits within a wider geographic band surrounding our existing branch locations.

We currently offer a comprehensive range of business deposit products and services to assist with the banking needs of our business customers, from a basic reserve account (savings and CD products) to integrated operating accounts with cash management capacity. Our online banking platform allows a customer to view balances, initiate payments, pay bills and set up custom alerts/statements. Online wires, ACH and remote capture are additional account features available to qualified businesses. Our debit cards allow access to cash nationwide as a result of our membership in major ATM networks. We also provide online and mobile banking products to our consumer depositors, to complement our branch network.

We plan to continue to grow our deposits by cross-selling business deposit relationships to our existing consumer customers who are business owners, and consumer and business accounts to our multifamily and single family loan borrowers and by obtaining new individual and business customers, including specialty deposit customers, such as fiduciary services providers, 1031 exchange companies, unions and nonprofits. Our cross-selling efforts to existing customers will be strategically targeted, based on our in depth analyses of our customers’ overall financial situation, global cash flows, financial resources and banking requirements. Although, our cross-selling efforts remain in their early stages, we believe there is additional capacity to expand deposit and lending relationships on this basis.

We supplement customer deposits with wholesale, or brokered, deposits where necessary to fund loan demand prior to raising additional customer deposits, or where desirable from a cost or liability maturity standpoint. Our current policy limits the use of wholesale deposits in accordance with our risk appetite level as determined by our board of directors.

Borrowings.

We supplement the funding provided by our deposit accounts with other borrowings at the Bank level from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco ("FHLB") to enable us to fund loans and to meet liquidity needs. We also maintain a line of credit at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco ("FRB") Discount Window, which is generally not used but provides an additional source of funding, if necessary. The use of FHLB borrowings can vary significantly from period to period, as the ability to originate loans frequently outpaces the ability to obtain core deposits at acceptable rates and in comparable amounts.

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Risk Management

We believe that effective risk management is of primary importance. Risk management refers to the activities by which we identify, measure, monitor, evaluate and manage the risks we face in the course of our banking activities. These include liquidity, interest rate, credit, operational, compliance, regulatory, strategic, financial and reputational risk exposures. Our board of directors and management team have created a risk-conscious culture that is focused on quality growth, which starts with capable and experienced risk management teams and infrastructure capable of addressing the evolving risks we face, as well as the changing regulatory and compliance landscape. Our risk management approach employs comprehensive policies and processes to establish robust governance and emphasizes personal ownership and accountability for risk with all our employees. We believe a disciplined and conservative underwriting approach has been the key to our strong asset quality.

Our board of directors sets the tone at the top of our organization, adopting and overseeing the implementation of our Bank’s risk management framework, which establishes our overall risk appetite and risk management strategy. The board of directors approves our Risk Appetite Statement, which includes risk policies, procedures, limits, targets and reporting structured to guide decisions regarding the appropriate balance between risk and return considerations in our business. Our board of directors receives periodic reporting on the risks and control environment effectiveness and monitors risk levels in relation to the approved risk appetite. The Audit & Risk Committee of our board of directors provides oversight of all enterprise risk management. The Executive Committee of management is charged with identifying, managing and controlling key risks that threaten our ability to achieve our strategic initiatives and goals.

Credit risk is the risk that borrowers or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to repay their obligations in accordance with the underlying contractual terms and the risk that credit assets will suffer significant deterioration in market value. We manage and control credit risk in our loan portfolio by adhering to well-defined underwriting criteria and account administration standards established by management and approved by the board of directors. Written credit policies document underwriting standards, approval levels, exposure limits and other limits or standards deemed necessary and prudent. Portfolio diversification at the obligor, product and geographic levels is actively managed to mitigate concentration risk. In addition, credit risk management includes an independent credit review process that assesses compliance with commercial real estate and consumer credit policies, risk rating standards and other critical credit information. In addition to implementing risk management practices that are based upon established and sound lending practices, we adhere to sound credit principles. We understand and evaluate our customers’ borrowing needs and capacity to repay, in conjunction with their character and history. The Bank’s Credit Council, which includes our President and Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Credit Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer, is responsible for ensuring that the Bank has an effective credit risk management program and credit risk rating system, adheres to our board’s Risk Appetite Statement, and maintains an adequate allowance for loan losses. Our management and board of directors place significant focus on maintaining a healthy risk profile and ensuring sustainable growth. Our risk appetite seeks to balance the risks necessary to achieve our strategic goals while ensuring that our risks are appropriately managed and remain within our defined limits.

Our management of interest rate and liquidity risk is overseen by our Asset and Liability Council, which is chaired by our Chief Financial Officer, based on a risk management infrastructure approved by our board of directors that outlines reporting and measurement requirements. In particular, this infrastructure reviews financial performance, trends, and significant variances to budget; reviews and recommends for board approval risk limits and tolerances; reviews ongoing monitoring and reporting regarding our performance with respect to these areas of risk, including compliance with board-approved risk limits and stress-testing; reviews and recommends to the Executive Committee for approval any changes to theories, mathematics, methodologies, assumptions, and data output for models used to measure these risks; ensures annual back-testing and independent validation of models at a frequency commensurate with risk level; reviews all hedging strategies and recommends changes as appropriate; reviews and recommends our contingency funding plan; recommends to the Executive Committee proposed wholesale borrowing limits to be submitted to the board of directors or its designated committee; recommends to the Executive Committee the proposed terms of any unanticipated long-term borrowing arrangement prior to debt issuance; develops recommended capital requirements; and acts as a second line of defense in reviewing information and reports submitted to the council for the purpose of identifying, investigating, and assuring remediation, to its satisfaction, of errors or irregularities, if any.

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Internet Access to Company Documents

The Company provides access to its SEC filings through its web site at www.lutherburbanksavings.com. After accessing the web site, the filings are available upon selecting "About Us/Investor Relations/Financials/SEC Filings." Reports available include the annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after the reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Further, the SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. All website addresses given in this document are for information only and are not intended to be an active link or to incorporate any website information into this document.

Luther Burbank Corporation Foundation

In 2017, we established the Luther Burbank Corporation Foundation ("Foundation") which was granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). The Foundation is an all-volunteer organization primarily funded by the Company, as well as from our directors, business partners and a corporate giving program that matches employee donations. The Foundation focuses its activities in our communities on the three priority areas of (1) social and human services; (2) community development; and (3) education.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, we had 277 full-time equivalent employees.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

We are subject to numerous risks, and the material risks and uncertainties that management believes affect us are described below. Any of these risks, if they are realized, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and consequently, the value of our common stock. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect us. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Some statements in these risk factors constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the section entitled "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."

Risks Related to Our Business

Our business and operations may be materially adversely affected by weak economic conditions.

Our business and operations, which primarily consist of banking activities, including lending money to customers in the form of real estate secured loans and borrowing money from customers in the form of deposits, are sensitive to general business and economic conditions in the U.S. generally, and on the West Coast in particular, which may differ from economic conditions in the U.S. as a whole. If economic conditions in the U.S. or any of our markets weaken, our growth and profitability from our operations could be constrained. In addition, foreign economic and political conditions could affect the stability of global financial markets, which could hinder economic growth. Our business is also significantly affected by monetary and related policies of the U.S. federal government and its agencies. Changes in any of these policies are influenced by macroeconomic conditions and other factors that are beyond our control. Adverse economic conditions caused by inflation, recession, acts of terrorism, outbreak of hostilities or other international or domestic occurrences, pandemic disease, unemployment, changes in securities markets, declines in the housing market, a tightening credit environment or other factors, and government policy responses to such conditions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to interest rate risk, which could adversely affect our profitability.

Our profitability, like that of most financial institutions, depends to a large extent on our net interest income, which is the difference between our interest income on interest-earning assets, such as loans and investment securities, and our interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings.

Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies and, in particular, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Reserve. Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and securities and the interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but such changes could affect our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits, the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities, and the average duration of our assets. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings increase at a faster rate than the interest rates received on loans and other investments, our net interest income, and therefore earnings, could be adversely affected. Earnings could also be adversely affected if the interest rates received on loans and other investments fall more quickly than the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. Any substantial, unexpected or prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our interest sensitivity profile was liability sensitive as of December 31, 2019. When short-term interest rates rise, the rate of interest we pay on our interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits, may rise more quickly than the rate of interest that we receive on our interest-earning assets, such as loans, which may cause our net interest income to decrease. Additionally, a shrinking yield premium between short-term and long-term market interest rates, a pattern typically indicative of investors' waning expectations of future growth and inflation, commonly referred to as a flattening of the yield curve, as well as an inverted yield curve, where long-term debt instruments have a lower yield than short-term debt instruments of the same credit quality, typically reduce our profit margin since we borrow at shorter terms than the terms at which we lend and invest.

In addition, an increase in interest rates could also have a negative impact on our results of operations by reducing the ability of borrowers to repay their current loan obligations. These circumstances could not only result in increased loan defaults, foreclosures and charge-offs, but also reduce collateral values and necessitate further increases to the allowance for loan losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We are subject to credit risk, which could adversely impact our profitability.

Our business depends on our ability to successfully measure and manage credit risk. As a lender, we are exposed to the risk that the principal of, or interest on, a loan will not be paid timely or at all or that the value of any collateral supporting a loan will be insufficient to cover our outstanding exposure. In addition, we are exposed to risks with respect to the period of time over which the loan may be repaid, risks relating to loan underwriting, risks resulting from changes in economic and industry conditions, and risks inherent in dealing with individual loans and borrowers. The creditworthiness of a borrower is affected by many factors including local market conditions and general economic conditions. If the overall economic climate in the U.S., generally, or in our market areas specifically, experiences material disruption, our borrowers may experience difficulties in repaying their loans, the collateral we hold may decrease in value or become illiquid, and the level of nonperforming loans, charge-offs and delinquencies could rise and require significant additional provisions for loan losses. Additional factors related to the credit quality of multifamily residential and other commercial real estate loans include the quality of management of the business and tenant vacancy rates.

Our risk management practices, such as monitoring the concentration of our loans within specific markets and product types and our credit approval, review and administrative practices, may not adequately reduce credit risk, and our credit administration personnel, policies and procedures may not adequately adapt to changes in economic or any other conditions affecting customers and the quality of the loan portfolio. Many of our loans are made to small businesses that are less able to withstand competitive, economic and financial pressures than larger borrowers. Consequently, we may have significant exposure if any of these borrowers becomes unable to pay their loan obligations as a result of economic or market conditions, or personal circumstances, such as divorce, unemployment or death. A failure to effectively measure and limit the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio may result in loan defaults, foreclosures and additional charge-offs, and may necessitate that we significantly increase our allowance for loan losses, each of which could adversely affect our net income. As a result, our inability to successfully manage credit risk could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our multifamily residential and commercial real estate loan portfolios may carry significant credit risk.

Our loan portfolio consists primarily of multifamily residential and, to a lesser extent, other commercial real estate loans, which are secured by industrial, office and retail properties. As of December 31, 2019, our multifamily residential loans totaled $4.0 billion, or 64.1% of our loan portfolio, and our other commercial real estate loans totaled $202.5 million, or 3.3% of our loan portfolio. Nonperforming multifamily residential loans were $541 thousand at December 31, 2019. There were no nonperforming other commercial real estate loans at December 31, 2019. Multifamily residential and commercial real estate loans may carry significant credit risk because they typically involve large loan balances concentrated with a single borrower or groups of related borrowers. The payment on these loans that are secured by income producing properties are typically dependent on the successful operation of the related real estate property and may subject us to risks from adverse conditions in the real estate market or the general economy. Investment in these properties by our customers is influenced by prices and return on investment, as well as changes to applicable laws regarding, among other things, rent control, personal and corporate tax reform, pass-through rules, immigration and fiscal and economic policy. The collateral securing these loans typically cannot be liquidated as easily as single family residential real estate, which may lead to longer holding periods.

If these properties become less attractive investments, demand for our loans would decrease. In addition, unexpected deterioration in the credit quality of our multifamily residential or commercial real estate loan portfolios could require us to increase our provision for loan losses, which would reduce our profitability and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business and operations are concentrated in California and Washington, and we are more sensitive than our more geographically diversified competitors to adverse changes in the local economy.

Unlike many of our larger competitors that maintain significant operations located outside our market areas, substantially all of our customers are individuals and businesses located and doing business in the states of California and Washington. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 87% of the loans in our portfolio measured by dollar amount were secured by collateral located in California and 11% of the loans in our portfolio measured by dollar amount were secured by collateral located in Washington. In addition, 61% of our real estate loans measured by dollar amount, were secured by collateral located in southern California counties. Therefore, our success will depend upon the general economic conditions in these areas, which we cannot predict with certainty. As a result, our operations and profitability may be more adversely affected by a local economic downturn than those of large, more geographically diverse competitors. A downturn in the local economy could make it more difficult for our borrowers to repay their loans and

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may lead to loan losses that are not offset by operations in other markets; it may also reduce the ability of depositors to make or maintain deposits with us. For these reasons, any regional or local economic downturn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to conduct our business could be disrupted by natural or man-made disasters.

A significant number of our offices, and a significant portion of the real estate securing loans we make, and our borrowers' business operations in general, are located in California. California has had and will continue to have major earthquakes in areas where a significant portion of the collateral and assets of our borrowers are concentrated. California is also prone to fires, mudslides, floods and other natural disasters. Additionally, acts of terrorism, war, civil unrest, violence, or other man-made disasters could also cause disruptions to our business or to the economy as a whole. The occurrence of natural or man-made disasters could destroy, or cause a decline in the value of, mortgaged properties or other assets that serve as our collateral and increase the risk of delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and losses on our loans, damage our banking facilities and offices, negatively impact regional economic conditions, result in a decline in loan demand and loan originations, result in drawdowns of deposits by customers impacted by disasters and negatively impact the implementation of our growth strategy. We have implemented a disaster recovery and business continuity plan that allows us to move critical functions to a backup data center in the event of a catastrophe. Although this program is tested periodically, we cannot guarantee its effectiveness in any disaster scenario. Regardless of the effectiveness of our disaster recovery and business continuity plan, the occurrence of any natural or man-made disaster could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We operate in a highly competitive market and face increasing competition from a variety of traditional and new financial services providers, which could adversely impact our profitability.

The banking markets in which we operate are highly competitive and our future growth and success will depend on our ability to compete effectively in these markets. We compete for deposits, loans, and other financial services in our markets with commercial and community banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, mortgage banking firms and online mortgage lenders, including large national financial institutions that operate in our market area. Many of these competitors are larger than us, have significantly more resources and greater brand recognition than we do, and may be able to attract customers more effectively than we can. Increased competition could require us to increase the rates we pay on deposits or lower the rates that we offer on loans, which could reduce our profitability. Our failure to compete effectively in our market could restrain our growth or cause us to lose market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to retain or grow our core deposit base, which could adversely impact our funding costs.

Like many financial institutions, we rely on customer deposits as our primary source of funding for our lending activities, and we continue to seek customer deposits to maintain this funding base. Our future growth will largely depend on our ability to retain and grow our deposit base. As of December 31, 2019, we had $5.2 billion in deposits and a loan to deposit ratio of 119%, which is higher than the level maintained by many other banks. As of the same date, using deposit account related information such as tax identification numbers, account vesting and account size, we estimated that $1.3 billion of our deposits exceeded the insurance limits established by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). None of our deposits are governmental deposits secured by collateral. Although we have historically maintained a high deposit customer retention rate, these deposits are subject to potentially dramatic fluctuations in availability or price due to certain factors outside of our control, such as increasing competitive pressures for deposits, changes in interest rates and returns on other investment classes, customer perceptions of our financial health and general reputation, or a loss of confidence by customers in us or the banking sector generally, which could result in significant outflows of deposits within short periods of time or significant changes in pricing necessary to maintain current customer deposits or attract additional deposits. Additionally, any such loss of funds could result in lower loan originations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our reputation is critical to our business, and damage to it could have a material adverse effect on us.

A key differentiating factor for our business is the strong reputation we are building in our markets. Maintaining a positive reputation is critical to attracting and retaining customers and employees. Adverse perceptions of us could make it more difficult for us to execute on our strategy. Harm to our reputation can arise from many sources, including actual or perceived employee misconduct, errors or misconduct by our third party vendors or other counterparties, litigation or regulatory actions, our failure to meet our high customer service and quality standards and compliance

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failures. Negative publicity about us, whether or not accurate, may damage our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our allowance for loan losses may be inadequate to absorb probable incurred losses inherent in the loan portfolio, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We periodically review our allowance for loan losses for adequacy considering historical loss experience, volume and types of loans, trends in classification, volume and trends in delinquencies and non-accrual loans, economic conditions and other pertinent information. The determination of the appropriate level of the allowance for loan losses is inherently highly subjective and requires us to make significant estimates of and assumptions regarding current credit risk and future trends, all of which may change materially. Although we endeavor to maintain our allowance for loan losses at a level adequate to absorb any probable incurred losses inherent in the loan portfolio, these estimates of loan losses are necessarily subjective and their accuracy depends on the outcome of future events. Inaccurate management assumptions, continuing deterioration of economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding existing loans, identification of additional problem loans and other factors, both within and outside of our control, may require us to increase our allowance for loan losses. In addition, our regulators, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review our loan portfolio and the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and may require adjustments based upon judgments that are different than those of management. Differences between our actual experience and assumptions and the effectiveness of our models could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent on our management team and key employees, and if we are not able to retain them, our business operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our success depends, in large part, on our management team and key employees. Our management team has significant industry experience, although a number of members of our senior management team have only been with us for a few years or less. In addition, our loan origination activities are conducted by a small number of individuals. Failure to attract and retain a qualified management team and qualified key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to maintain growth, earnings or profitability consistent with our strategic plan.

There can be no assurance that we will remain profitable in future periods, or, if profitable, that our overall earnings will remain consistent with our prior results of operations, or increase in the future. Sustainable growth requires that we manage our risks by following prudent loan underwriting standards, balancing loan and deposit growth without materially increasing interest rate risk or compressing our net interest margin, maintaining more than adequate capital at all times, scaling technology platforms, hiring and retaining qualified employees, and successfully implementing our strategic initiatives. Our failure to maintain a sustainable rate of growth or adequately manage the factors that have contributed to that growth could have a material adverse effect on our earnings and profitability and, therefore on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Regulatory requirements affecting our loans secured by commercial real estate could limit our ability to leverage our capital and adversely affect our growth and profitability.

The federal banking agencies have issued guidance for institutions that are deemed to have concentrations in commercial real estate ("CRE") lending. Pursuant to the supervisory criteria contained in the guidance for identifying institutions with a potential CRE concentration risk, institutions which have (i) total reported loans for construction, land development, and other land which represent 100% or more of an institution's total risk-based capital; or (ii) total CRE loans representing 300% or more of the institution's total risk-based capital and the outstanding balance of the institution's CRE loan portfolio has increased 50% or more during the prior 36 months are identified as having potential CRE concentration risk. Institutions which are deemed to have concentrations in CRE lending are expected to employ heightened levels of risk management with respect to their CRE portfolios, and may be required to hold higher levels of capital. We have a concentration in CRE loans, and multifamily residential real estate loans in particular, and we have experienced significant growth in our CRE portfolio in recent years. As of December 31, 2019, CRE loans represent 594% of the Company's total risk-based capital. Multifamily residential real estate loans, the vast majority of which are 50% risk weighted for regulatory capital purposes, were 562% of the Company's total risk-based capital. Management has extensive experience in CRE lending, and has implemented and continues to maintain heightened portfolio monitoring and reporting, and strong underwriting criteria with respect to its CRE portfolio. Nevertheless, we could be

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required to maintain higher levels of capital as a result of our CRE concentration, which could limit our growth, require us to obtain additional capital, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Lack of seasoning of our loan portfolio could increase risk of credit defaults in the future.

As a result of our organic growth over the past several years, as of December 31, 2019, approximately $5.4 billion, or 86.5%, of the loans in our loan portfolio were originated since January 1, 2016, of which 9.8% were from in-house refinancings. In general, loans do not begin to show signs of credit deterioration or default until they have been outstanding for some period of time, a process referred to as "seasoning." As a result, a portfolio of older loans will usually behave more predictably than a newer portfolio. Although a significant portion of our multifamily portfolio is refinancings of prior loans on the same property, a large portion of our loan portfolio is relatively new, and therefore, the current level of delinquencies and defaults may not represent the level that may prevail as the portfolio becomes more seasoned and may not serve as a reliable basis for predicting the health and nature of our loan portfolio, including net charge-offs and the ratio of nonperforming assets in the future. Our limited experience with these loans does not provide us with a significant history pattern with which to judge future collectability or performance. However, we believe that our stringent credit underwriting process, our ongoing credit review processes, and our history of successful management of our loan portfolio, mitigate these risks. Nevertheless, if delinquencies and defaults increase, we may be required to increase our provision for loan losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our loan portfolio possesses increased risk due to our level of adjustable rate loans.

A substantial majority of the real estate secured loans in our portfolio are adjustable rate loans. Any rise in prevailing market interest rates may result in increased periodic payments for borrowers who have adjustable rate mortgage loans, increasing the possibility of defaults that may adversely affect our profitability.

Our single family residential loan portfolio possesses increased risk due to our level of interest only loans and other non-conforming loans.

Many of the residential mortgage loans we have originated consist of SFR loans that do not conform to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac underwriting guidelines as a result of loan terms, loan size or other exceptions from agency underwriting guidelines. Additionally, many of our loans do not meet the qualified mortgage definition established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and therefore, contain additional regulatory and legal risks. In addition, the secondary market demand for nonconforming mortgage loans is generally limited, and consequently, we may experience difficulties selling the non-conforming loans in our portfolio should we decide to do so.

With respect to interest only loans, a borrower's monthly payment is subject to change when the loan converts to fully-amortizing status. Since the borrower's monthly payment may increase by a substantial amount, even without an increase in prevailing market interest rates, the borrower might not be able to afford the increased monthly payment. Our SFR interest only loans at December 31, 2019, totaled $505.2 million, or 25.3% of our total SFR loan portfolio, as compared to $515.3 million, or 23.1%, at December 31, 2018.

We are exposed to higher credit risk due to relationship exposure with a number of large borrowers.

As of December 31, 2019, we had 23 borrowing relationships in excess of $20 million which accounted for approximately 8.8% of our loan portfolio. While we are not overly dependent on any one of these relationships and while none of these relationships have had any material credit quality issues in the past, a deterioration of any of these credit relationships could require us to increase our allowance for loan losses or result in significant losses to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and meet our obligations as they become due and failure to maintain sufficient liquidity could materially adversely affect our growth, business, profitability and financial condition.

Liquidity is essential to our business. Liquidity risk is the potential that we will be unable to meet our obligations as they become due because of an inability to liquidate assets or obtain adequate funding at a reasonable cost, in a timely manner and without adverse conditions or consequences. We require sufficient liquidity to fund asset growth, meet customer loan requests, customer deposit maturities and withdrawals, payments on our debt obligations as they come

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due and other cash commitments under both normal operating conditions and other unpredictable circumstances, including events causing industry or general financial market stress. Liquidity risk can increase due to a number of factors, including an over-reliance on a particular source of funding or market-wide phenomena such as market dislocation and major disasters. Factors that could detrimentally impact access to liquidity sources include, but are not limited to, a decrease in the level of our deposit activity as a result of a downturn in the markets in which our loans are concentrated, adverse regulatory actions against us, or changes in the liquidity needs of our depositors. Market conditions or other events could also negatively affect the level or cost of funding, affecting our ongoing ability to accommodate liability maturities and deposit withdrawals, meet contractual obligations, and fund asset growth and new business transactions at a reasonable cost, in a timely manner, and without adverse consequences. Our inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of loans, and other sources could have a substantial negative effect on our business, and could result in the closure of the Bank. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities or on acceptable terms could be impaired by factors that affect our organization specifically or the financial services industry or economy in general. Any substantial, unexpected, and/or prolonged change in the level or cost of liquidity could impair our ability to fund operations and meet our obligations as they become due and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on customer deposits, advances from the FHLB and brokered deposits to fund our operations. Although we have historically been able to replace maturing deposits and advances, if desired, including throughout the recent recession, we may not be able to replace such funds in the future if our financial condition, the financial condition of the FHLB or market conditions change. FHLB borrowings and other current sources of liquidity may not be available or, if available, sufficient to provide adequate funding for operations.

Limits on our ability to use brokered deposits as part of our funding strategy may adversely affect our ability to grow.

A "brokered deposit" is any deposit that is obtained from or through the mediation or assistance of a deposit broker. These deposit brokers attract deposits from individuals and companies throughout the country and internationally whose deposit decisions are based almost exclusively on obtaining the highest interest rates. Recently enacted regulation excludes reciprocal deposits of up to the lesser of $5 billion or 20% of an institution’s deposits from the definition of brokered deposits, where the institution is "well-capitalized" and has a regulatory examination composite rating of 1 or 2. We have used brokered deposits in the past, and we intend to continue to use brokered deposits as one of our funding sources to support future growth. As of December 31, 2019, brokered deposits, represented 7.9% of our total deposits. Currently, these wholesale deposits have a modestly lower deposit cost as compared to our retail deposits. However, there are risks associated with using brokered deposits. In order to continue to maintain our level of brokered deposits, we may be forced to pay higher interest rates than those contemplated by our asset-liability pricing strategy. In addition, banks that become less than "well-capitalized" under applicable regulatory capital requirements may be restricted or prohibited in their ability to accept or renew brokered deposits. If this funding source becomes more difficult to access, we will have to seek alternative funding sources in order to continue to fund our growth. This may include increasing our reliance on FHLB borrowings, attempting to attract additional non-brokered deposits, and selling loans. There can be no assurance that brokered deposits will be available, or if available, sufficient to support our continued growth. The unavailability of a sufficient volume of brokered deposits could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

New lines of business, products, product enhancements or services may subject us to additional risk.

From time to time, we may implement new lines of business or offer new products and product enhancements as well as new services within our existing lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts. In developing, implementing or marketing new lines of business, products, product enhancements or services, we may invest significant time and resources. We may underestimate the appropriate level of resources or expertise necessary to make new lines of business or products successful or to realize their expected benefits. We may not achieve the milestones set in initial timetables for the development and introduction of new lines of business, products, product enhancements or services, and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible. External factors, such as compliance with regulations, competitive alternatives and shifting market preferences, may also impact the ultimate implementation of a new line of business or offerings of new products, product enhancements or services. Any new line of business, product, product enhancement or service could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of our system of internal controls. We may also decide to discontinue businesses or products, due to lack of customer acceptance or unprofitability. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or offerings of new products, product enhancements or services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We intend to provide banking services to customers in the cannabis industry and the strict enforcement of federal laws regarding cannabis would likely result in our inability to continue this line of business and we could have legal action taken against us by the federal government.

We have launched a pilot program to provide deposit services to a limited group of California-licensed cannabis related businesses ("CRBs"). The pilot program will be open only to up to 12 California-licensed retailers, commonly referred to as dispensaries, engaged in the sale of medical cannabis. We will not be providing any extensions of credit under this program. Though medical and adult-use cannabis is legal in the state of California, its manufacture, distribution, possession, and use are prohibited under the federal Controlled Substances Act ("CSA"). Violations of the CSA are punishable by imprisonment and fines.

Although there have been several examples of proposed federal legislation that would resolve the conflict between state and federal laws with respect to cannabis, no such legislation has passed. In 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement Act of 2019 which would have created legal protections for depository institutions that chose to provide banking services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses, among other things. The legislation was not taken up by the Senate.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") issued a memo ("Cole Memo") that outlined the DOJ's enforcement priorities with regard to cannabis and instructed federal prosecutors to focus prosecutorial efforts on eight priorities detailed in the memo. In 2018, the DOJ rescinded the Cole Memo and no subsequent guidance has been issued by the DOJ.

Since 2014, the U.S. Congress has enacted an omnibus spending bill that includes a provision prohibiting the DOJ and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds appropriated by that bill to prevent states from implementing their medical-use cannabis laws. This provision must be renewed annually and the current provision expires on September 30, 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in USA v. McIntosh that this provision prohibits the DOJ from spending funds from relevant appropriation acts to prosecute individuals who engage in conduct permitted by state medical-use cannabis laws and who strictly comply with such laws. However, any change in the federal government's enforcement position could cause us to immediately terminate our cannabis banking pilot program.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") published guidelines in 2014 in conjunction with the issuance of the Cole Memo for financial institutions servicing state legal cannabis businesses. The FinCEN guidance discusses federal regulators' expectations regarding BSA compliance when a financial institution provides banking services to a CRB. Any adverse change to the FinCEN guidance or the interpretation of the guidance by federal regulators could cause us to immediately terminate our cannabis banking pilot program.

Any change in the enforcement priorities of the DOJ, FinCEN, or our federal banking regulators or our failure to comply with the FinCEN guidance could result in legal or administrative action being taken against us, and such action could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Operational risks are inherent in our business.

Operational risks and losses can result from internal and external fraud; gaps or weaknesses in our risk management or internal control procedures; errors by employees or third-parties; failure to document transactions properly or to obtain proper authorization; failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements; failures in the models we utilize and rely on; equipment failures, including those caused by electrical, telecommunications or other essential utility outages; business continuity and data security system failures, including those caused by computer viruses, cyberattacks, unforeseen problems encountered while implementing major new computer systems, upgrades to existing systems or inadequate access to data or poor response capabilities in light of such business continuity or data security system failures; or the inadequacy or failure of systems and controls, including those of our suppliers or counterparties. Although we have implemented risk controls and loss mitigation actions, and substantial resources are devoted to developing efficient procedures, identifying and rectifying weaknesses in existing procedures and training staff, there is no assurance that such actions will be effective in controlling all of the operational risks faced by us. Failure of our risk controls and/or loss mitigation actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We depend on the accuracy and completeness of information provided by customers and counterparties.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with customers and counterparties, we may rely on information furnished by or on behalf of customers and counterparties, including financial information. We may also rely on representations of customers and counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information. In deciding whether to extend credit, we may rely upon customers' representations that their financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the customer. We also may rely on customer representations and certifications, or other audit or accountants' reports, with respect to the business and financial condition of our customers. Our financial condition, results of operations, financial reporting and reputation could be negatively affected if we rely on materially misleading, false, inaccurate or fraudulent information.

We depend on information technology and telecommunications systems of third parties, and any systems failures or interruptions could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

Our business depends on the successful and uninterrupted functioning of our information technology and telecommunications systems. We outsource many of our major systems, such as data processing, deposit processing, loan origination, email and anti-money laundering monitoring systems. Of particular significance is our long term contract for core data processing services with Fiserv. The failure of these systems, or the termination of a third party software license or service agreement on which any of these systems is based, could interrupt our operations, and we could experience difficulty in implementing replacement solutions. In many cases our operations rely heavily on secured processing, storage and transmission of information and the monitoring of a large number of transactions on a minute-by-minute basis, and even a short interruption in service could have significant consequences. Because our information technology and telecommunications systems interface with and depend on third party systems, we could experience service denials if demand for such services exceeds capacity or such third party systems fail or experience interruptions. If significant, sustained or repeated, a system failure or service denial could compromise our ability to operate effectively, damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, and subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, failure of third parties to comply with applicable laws and regulations, or fraud or misconduct on the part of employees of any of these third parties could disrupt our operations or adversely affect our reputation.

We are subject to cybersecurity risks and security breaches and may incur increasing costs in an effort to minimize those risks and to respond to cyber incidents, and we may experience harm to our reputation and liability exposure from security breaches.

Our business involves the storage and transmission of customers' proprietary information, and security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, litigation and potential liability. While we have incurred no material cyber-attacks or security breaches to date, a number of other financial services and other companies have disclosed cyber-attacks and security breaches, some of which have involved intentional attacks. Attacks may be targeted at us, our customers, or both. Although we devote significant resources to maintain, regularly update and backup our systems and processes that are designed to protect the security of our computer systems, software, networks and other technology assets and the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information belonging to us or our customers, our security measures may not be effective against all potential cyber-attacks or security breaches. Despite our efforts to ensure the integrity of our systems, it is possible that we may not be able to anticipate or to implement effective preventive measures against all security breaches of these types, especially because the techniques used change frequently or are not recognized until launched, and because cyber-attacks can originate from a wide variety of sources, including persons who are involved with organized crime or associated with external service providers or who may be linked to terrorist organizations or hostile foreign governments. These risks may increase in the future as we continue to increase our internet-based product offerings and expand our internal usage of web-based products and applications. If an actual or perceived security breach occurs, customer perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed and could result in the loss of customers.

A successful penetration or circumvention of the security of our systems, including those of third party providers or other financial institutions, or the failure to meet regulatory requirements for security of our systems, could cause serious negative consequences, including significant disruption of our operations, misappropriation of our confidential information or that of our customers, or damage to our computers or systems or those of our customers or counterparties, significant increases in compliance costs (such as repairing systems or adding new personnel or protection technologies), and could result in violations of applicable privacy and other laws, financial loss to us or to our customers,

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loss of confidence in our security measures, customer dissatisfaction, significant litigation and regulatory exposure, and harm to our reputation, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to keep up with the rapid technological changes in the financial services industry could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position and profitability.

The financial services industry is undergoing rapid technological changes, with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers and reduce costs. Our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands for convenience, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements than we have. We may not be able to implement new technology-driven products and services effectively or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could harm our ability to compete effectively and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. As these technologies are improved in the future, we may be required to make significant capital expenditures in order to remain competitive, which may increase our overall expenses and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our risk management framework may not be effective in mitigating risks and/or losses to us.

Our risk management framework is comprised of various processes, systems and strategies, and is designed to manage the types of risk to which we are subject, including, among others, credit, market, liquidity, operational, interest rate and compliance. Our framework also includes financial or other modeling methodologies that involve management assumptions and judgment. Our risk management framework may not be effective under all circumstances. Our risk management framework may not adequately mitigate any risk or loss to us. If our risk management framework is not effective, we could suffer unexpected losses and our business, financial condition, results of operations or growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected. We may also be subject to potentially adverse regulatory consequences.

We may be adversely affected by the soundness of other financial institutions.

Our ability to engage in routine funding transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Financial services companies are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, and other relationships. As a result, defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, one or more financial services companies, or the financial services industry generally, could lead to market-wide liquidity problems and losses or defaults by us or other institutions. These losses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent on the use of data and modeling in both our management's decision making generally and in meeting regulatory expectations in particular.

The use of statistical and quantitative models and other quantitatively-based analyses is endemic to bank decision making and regulatory compliance processes, and the employment of such analyses is becoming increasingly widespread in our operations. Liquidity stress testing, interest rate sensitivity analysis, allowance for loan loss measurement, loan portfolio stress testing and the identification of possible violations of anti-money laundering regulations are examples of areas in which we are dependent on models and the data that underlies them. While these quantitative techniques and approaches improve our decision making, they also create the possibility that faulty data or flawed quantitative approaches could yield adverse outcomes or regulatory scrutiny. Secondarily, because of the complexity inherent in these approaches, misunderstanding or misuse of their outputs could similarly result in suboptimal decision making, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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If we fail to design, implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or remediate any future material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable reports and prevent fraud.

Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), management is required to annually assess and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and, when we cease to be an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, include an attestation report by the Company’s independent auditors addressing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective due to the failure to cure any identified material weakness or otherwise. Moreover, even if management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. In the course of their review, our independent registered public accounting firm may not be satisfied with the internal control over financial reporting or the level at which the controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or it may interpret the relevant requirements differently from the Company. In addition, during the course of the evaluation, documentation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by the SEC for compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Any such deficiencies may also subject us to adverse regulatory consequences. If we fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis, may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and may suffer adverse regulatory consequences or violate NASDAQ's listing standards. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

We believe that a control system, no matter how well designed and managed, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected. We may not be able to identify all significant deficiencies and/or material weaknesses in our internal control in the future, and our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may need to raise additional capital in the future, and we may not be able to do so.

Access to sufficient capital is critical in order to enable us to implement our business plan, support our business, expand our operations, and meet applicable capital requirements. The inability to have sufficient capital, whether internally generated through earnings or raised in the capital markets, could adversely impact our ability to support and to grow our operations. If we grow our operations faster than we generate capital internally, we will need to access the capital markets. We may not be able to raise additional capital in the form of additional debt or equity. Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on, among other things, conditions in the capital markets at that time, our financial condition and our results of operations. Economic conditions and/or a loss of confidence in financial institutions may increase our cost of capital and limit access to some sources of capital. Such capital may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Any occurrence that may limit our access to the capital markets, or disruption in capital markets, may adversely affect our capital costs and our ability to raise capital. Further, if we need to raise capital in the future, we may have to do so when many other financial institutions are also seeking to raise capital and would then have to compete with those institutions for investors. An inability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms when needed could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Litigation and regulatory actions, including possible enforcement actions, could subject us to significant fines, penalties, judgments or other requirements resulting in increased expenses or restrictions on our business activities.

In the normal course of business, from time to time, we have in the past and may in the future be named as a defendant in various legal actions, arising in connection with our current and/or prior business activities. Legal actions could

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include claims for substantial compensatory or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. We may also, from time to time, be the subject of subpoenas, requests for information, reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by governmental agencies regarding our current and/or prior business activities. Any such legal or regulatory actions may subject us to substantial compensatory or punitive damages, significant fines, penalties, obligations to change our business practices or other requirements resulting in increased expenses, diminished income and damage to our reputation. Our involvement in any such matters, whether tangential or otherwise and even if the matters are ultimately determined in our favor, could also cause significant harm to our reputation and divert management attention from the operation of our business. Further, any settlement, consent order or adverse judgment in connection with any formal or informal proceeding or investigation by government agencies may result in litigation, investigations or proceedings as other litigants and government agencies begin independent reviews of the same activities. As a result, the outcome of legal and regulatory actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to an extensive body of accounting rules and best practices. Periodic changes to such rules may change the treatment and recognition of critical financial line items and affect our profitability.

The nature of our business makes us sensitive to the large body of accounting rules in the U.S. From time to time, the governing bodies that oversee changes to accounting rules and reporting requirements may release new guidance for the preparation of our financial statements. These changes can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some instances, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the restatement of prior period financial statements. Changes which have been approved for future implementation, or which are currently proposed or expected to be proposed or adopted include requirements that we: (i) calculate the allowance for loan losses on the basis of the current expected loan losses over the lifetime of our loans, which is expected to be applicable to us beginning in 2023; and (ii) record the value of and liabilities relating to operating leases on our balance sheet, which is expected to be applicable beginning on January 1, 2021. These changes could adversely affect our capital, regulatory capital ratios, ability to make larger loans, earnings and performance metrics. We are evaluating the impact the Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") accounting model will have on our financial results, but expect to recognize a one-time cumulative-effect adjustment to the allowance for loan losses and retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the new standard is effective. We cannot yet determine the magnitude of any such one-time cumulative adjustment or of the overall impact of the new standard on our financial condition or results of operations. Any such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The fair value of our investment securities can fluctuate due to factors outside of our control.

Factors beyond our control can significantly influence the fair value of securities in our portfolio and can cause potential adverse changes to the fair value of these securities. These factors include, but are not limited to, rating agency actions in respect of the securities, defaults by the issuer or with respect to the underlying securities, and changes in market interest rates and instability in the capital markets. Any of these factors, among others, could cause other than temporary impairments ("OTTI"), and realized and/or unrealized losses in future periods and declines in other comprehensive income, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. The process for determining whether impairment of a security is OTTI usually requires complex, subjective judgments about the future financial performance and liquidity of the issuer, any collateral underlying the security and our intent and ability to hold the security for a sufficient period of time to allow for any anticipated recovery in fair value, in order to assess the probability of receiving all contractual principal and interest payments on the security. Our failure to correctly and timely assess any impairments or losses with respect to our securities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Many of our loans are priced based on variable interest rates tied to the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"). We are subject to risks that LIBOR may no longer be available as a result of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority ceasing to require the submission of LIBOR quotes in 2021.

The expected discontinuation of LIBOR quotes in 2021 creates substantial risks to the banking industry, including us. Generally all of our loans provide for an alternative index to be selected by us as a substitute index from among the most widely followed financial indexes should LIBOR become unavailable. However, uncertainty as to the establishment of, as well as the future performance of, an alternative index could adversely affect our asset-liability management and could lead to more asset and liability mismatches and interest rate risk, or may have other consequences which cannot be predicted. The cessation of LIBOR could also cause confusion that could disrupt the capital and credit

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markets as a result. Additionally, there may be borrower resistance to the establishment of an alternative index, which could result in potential litigation or defaults.

The Federal Reserve has sponsored the Alternative Reference Rates Committee ("ARRC"), which serves as a forum to coordinate and track planning as market participants currently using LIBOR consider (a) transitioning to alternative reference rates where it is deemed appropriate and (b) addressing risks in legacy contracts language given the possibility that LIBOR might stop. On April 3, 2018, the Federal Reserve began publishing three new reference rates, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). ARRC has recommended SOFR as the alternative to LIBOR, and published fallback interest rate consultations for public comment and a Paced Transition Plan to SOFR use. The viability of SOFR as an alternative index is unclear. The Financial Stability Board has taken an interest in LIBOR and possible replacement indices as a matter of risk management. The International Organization of Securities Commissions ("IOSCO"), has been active in this area and is expected to call on market participants to have backup options if a reference rate, such as LIBOR, ceases publication. The International Swap Dealers Association has published guidance on interest rate bench marks and alternatives in July and August 2018. As of December 31, 2019, we had $1.8 billion of loans, $426.2 million of investments, $61.9 million of junior subordinated deferrable interest debentures and $15.9 million of other assets that were indexed to LIBOR and that have stated maturity dates after December 31, 2021. We are currently evaluating replacement indices for our loan portfolio and anticipate substituting these instruments with SOFR or another comparable index. Replacement indices for all other assets and liabilities noted herein will be determined by third parties and, to date, such replacement indices have not been announced. It cannot be predicted whether SOFR or another index or indices will become a market standard that replaces LIBOR, and if so, the effects on our customers, or our future results of operations or financial condition.

We may pursue strategic acquisitions in the future, and we may not be able to overcome risks associated with such transactions.

We may explore opportunities to invest in, or to acquire, other financial institutions and businesses that we believe would complement our existing business. Our investment or acquisition activities could be material to our business and involve a number of risks including the following:


•	investing time and incurring expense associated with identifying and evaluating potential investments or acquisitions and negotiating potential transactions, resulting in our attention being diverted from the operation of our existing business;


•	the lack of history among our management team in working together on acquisitions and related integration activities;


•	the time, expense and difficulty of integrating the operations and personnel of the combined businesses;


•	unexpected asset quality problems with acquired companies;


•	inaccurate estimates and judgments used to evaluate credit, operations, management and market risks with respect to the target institution or assets;


•	risks of impairment to goodwill or other than temporary impairment of investment securities;


•	potential exposure to unknown or contingent liabilities of banks and businesses we acquire;


•	an inability to realize expected synergies or returns on investment;


•	potential disruption of our ongoing banking business; and


•	loss of key employees or key customers following our investment or acquisition.

We may not be successful in overcoming these risks or other problems encountered in connection with potential investments or acquisitions. Our inability to overcome these risks could have an adverse effect on our ability to implement our business strategy and enhance shareholder value, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, if we record goodwill in connection with any acquisition, our financial condition and results of operation may be adversely affected if that goodwill is subsequently determined to be impaired, which would require us to take an impairment charge.

Risks Related to Our Industry

Our industry is highly regulated, and the regulatory framework, together with any future legislative or regulatory changes, may have a materially adverse effect on our operations.

The banking industry is highly regulated and supervised under both federal and state laws and regulations that are intended primarily for the protection of depositors, customers, the public, the banking system as a whole or the FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund, not for the protection of our shareholders and creditors. Compliance with these laws and regulations can be difficult and costly, and changes to laws and regulations can impose additional compliance costs.

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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act"), which imposes significant regulatory and compliance changes on financial institutions, is an example of this type of federal regulation. The laws and regulations applicable to us govern a variety of matters, including permissible types, amounts and terms of loans and investments we may make, the maximum interest rate that may be charged, the amount of reserves we must hold against deposits we take, the types of deposits we may accept and the rates we may pay on such deposits, maintenance of adequate capital and liquidity, changes in control of us and our Bank, transactions between us and our Bank, handling of nonpublic information, restrictions on dividends and establishment of new offices. We must obtain approval from our regulators before engaging in certain activities, and there is risk that such approvals may not be granted, either in a timely manner or at all. These requirements may constrain our operations, and the adoption of new laws and changes to or repeal of existing laws may have a further impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, the burden imposed by those federal and state regulations may place banks in general, including our Bank in particular, at a competitive disadvantage compared to their non-bank competitors. Our failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations, or regulatory policies and interpretations of such laws and regulations, could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil money penalties or damage to our reputation, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Bank holding companies and financial institutions are extensively regulated and currently face an uncertain regulatory environment. Applicable laws, regulations, interpretations, enforcement policies and accounting principles have been subject to significant changes in recent years, and may be subject to significant future changes. Future changes may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Federal and state regulatory agencies may adopt changes to their regulations or change the manner in which existing regulations are applied. We cannot predict the substance or effect of pending or future legislation or regulation or the application of laws and regulations to us. Compliance with current and potential regulation, as well as regulatory scrutiny, may significantly increase our costs, impede the efficiency of our internal business processes, require us to increase our regulatory capital, and limit our ability to pursue business opportunities in an efficient manner by requiring us to expend significant time, effort and resources to ensure compliance and respond to any regulatory inquiries or investigations.

In addition, regulators may elect to alter standards or the interpretation of the standards used to measure regulatory compliance or to determine the adequacy of liquidity, risk management or other operational practices for financial service companies in a manner that impacts our ability to implement our strategy and could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the regulatory agencies have extremely broad discretion in their interpretation of laws and regulations and their assessment of the quality of our loan portfolio, securities portfolio and other assets. If any regulatory agency's assessment of the quality of our assets, operations, lending practices, investment practices, capital structure or other aspects of our business differs from our assessment, we may be required to take additional charges or undertake, or refrain from taking, actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Federal and state regulators periodically examine our business and may require us to remediate adverse examination findings or may take enforcement action against us.

We are subject to examination by the Federal Reserve, and our Bank is subject to regulation and supervision by the FDIC and the California Department of Business Oversight Division of Financial Institutions ("DBO"). If, as a result of an examination, these agencies were to determine that our financial condition, capital resources, asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity or other aspects of any of our operations had become unsatisfactory, or that we were in violation of any law or regulation, they may take a number of different remedial actions as they deem appropriate. These actions include the power to enjoin "unsafe or unsound" practices, to require affirmative action to correct any conditions resulting from any violation of law or regulation or unsafe or unsound practice, to issue an administrative order that can be judicially enforced, to direct an increase in our capital, to direct the sale of subsidiaries or other assets, to limit dividends and distributions, to restrict our growth, to assess civil money penalties against us or our officers or directors, to remove officers and directors and, if it is concluded that such conditions cannot be corrected or there is imminent risk of loss to depositors, to terminate our deposit insurance and place our Bank into receivership or conservatorship. Any regulatory enforcement action against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We may be required to act as a source of financial and managerial strength for our Bank in times of stress.

Under federal law and long-standing Federal Reserve policy, we, as a bank holding company, are required to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to our Bank and to commit resources to support our Bank if necessary. We may be required to commit additional resources to our Bank at times when we may not be in a financial position to provide such resources or when it may not be in our, or our shareholders' or creditors', best interests to do so. A requirement to provide such support is more likely during times of financial stress for us and our Bank, which may make any capital we are required to raise to provide such support more expensive than it might otherwise be. In addition, any capital loans we make to our Bank are subordinate in right of repayment to deposit and other liabilities of our Bank.

Regulatory initiatives regarding bank capital requirements may require heightened capital.

Regulatory capital rules adopted in July 2013, which implement the Basel III regulatory capital reforms, include a common equity Tier 1 capital requirement and establish criteria that instruments must meet to be considered common equity Tier 1 capital, additional Tier 1 capital or Tier 2 capital. These enhancements were intended to both improve the quality and increase the quantity of capital required to be held by banking organizations, and to better equip the U.S. banking system to deal with adverse economic conditions. The capital rules require bank holding companies and banks to maintain a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5%, a minimum total Tier 1 risk based capital ratio of 6%, a minimum total risk based capital ratio of 8%, and a minimum leverage ratio of 4%. Bank holding companies and banks are also required to hold a capital conservation buffer of common equity Tier 1 capital of 2.5% to avoid limitations on capital distributions and discretionary executive compensation payments. The revised capital rules also require banks to maintain a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.5% or greater, a Tier 1 capital ratio of 8% or greater, a total capital ratio of 10% or greater and a leverage ratio of 5% or greater to be deemed "well-capitalized" for purposes of certain rules and prompt corrective action requirements. The Federal Reserve may also set higher capital requirements for holding companies whose circumstances warrant it. Our regulatory capital ratios currently are in excess of the levels established for "well-capitalized" institutions. Future regulatory change could impose higher capital standards. Failure to maintain capital to meet current or future regulatory requirements could have a significant material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face a risk of noncompliance and enforcement action with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 ("Patriot Act"), and other laws and regulations require financial institutions, among other duties, to institute and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and to file reports such as suspicious activity reports and currency transaction reports. We are required to comply with these and other anti-money laundering requirements. Our federal and state banking regulators, FinCEN, and other government agencies are authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of anti-money laundering requirements. We are also subject to increased scrutiny of compliance with the regulations issued and enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"). If our program is deemed deficient, we could be subject to liability, including fines, civil money penalties and other regulatory actions, which may include restrictions on our business operations and our ability to pay dividends, restrictions on mergers and acquisitions activity, restrictions on expansion, and restrictions on entering new business lines. Failure to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing could also have significant reputational consequences for us. Any of these circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to numerous "fair and responsible banking" laws designed to protect consumers, and failure to comply with these laws could lead to a wide variety of sanctions.

The Community Reinvestment Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and other fair lending laws and regulations, including state laws and regulations, prohibit discriminatory lending practices by financial institutions. The Federal Trade Commission Act and the Dodd-Frank Act prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices by financial institutions. The DOJ, federal banking agencies, and other federal and state agencies are responsible for enforcing these fair and responsible banking laws and regulations. A challenge to an institution's compliance with fair and responsible banking laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including damages and civil money penalties, injunctive relief, restrictions on mergers and acquisitions activity, restrictions on expansion, and restrictions on entering new business lines. Private parties may also have the ability to challenge an institution's

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performance under fair lending laws in private class action litigation. Such actions could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to laws regarding the privacy, information security and protection of personal information and any violation of these laws or another incident involving personal, confidential, or proprietary information of individuals could damage our reputation and otherwise adversely affect our business.

Our business requires the collection and retention of large volumes of customer data, including personally identifiable information ("PII"), in various information systems that we maintain and in those maintained by third party service providers. We also maintain important internal company data such as PII about our employees and information relating to our operations. We are subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations governing the privacy and protection of PII of individuals (including customers, employees, and other third parties), including, but not limited to, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ("GLB Act"), and the California Consumer Protection Act ("CCPA") which took effect on January 1, 2020. Ensuring that our collection, use, transfer and storage of PII complies with all applicable laws and regulations can increase our costs. Furthermore, we may not be able to ensure that customers and other third parties have appropriate controls in place to protect the confidentiality of the information that they exchange with us, particularly where such information is transmitted by electronic means. If personal, confidential or proprietary information of customers or others were to be mishandled or misused (in situations where, for example, such information was erroneously provided to parties who are not permitted to have the information, or where such information was intercepted or otherwise compromised by third parties), we could be exposed to litigation or regulatory sanctions under privacy and data protection laws and regulations. Concerns regarding the effectiveness of our measures to safeguard PII, or even the perception that such measures are inadequate, could cause us to lose customers or potential customers and thereby reduce our revenues. Any failure, or perceived failure to comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws and regulations may subject us to inquiries, examinations and investigations that could result in requirements to modify or cease certain operations or practices or in significant liabilities, fines or penalties, and could damage our reputation and otherwise adversely affect our operations, financial condition and results of operations.

Our use of third party vendors and our other ongoing third party business relationships are subject to regulatory requirements and attention.

We regularly use third party vendors in our business and we rely on some of these vendors for critical functions including, but not limited to, our core processing function and mortgage broker relationships. Third party relationships are subject to increasingly demanding regulatory requirements and attention by bank regulators. As a result, if our regulators conclude that we have not exercised adequate oversight and control over our third party vendors or that such vendors have not performed adequately, we could be subject to administrative penalties or fines as well as requirements for consumer remediation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, our use of loan brokers to originate a portion of our multifamily residential loans and substantially all of our single family residential loans, exposes us to risk of loss or liability in the event that such brokers misrepresent the borrower's financial condition or other information included in the loan package, or if the broker engages in violations of law in connection with the loan.

Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock

Our stock price may be volatile, and you could lose part or all of your investment as a result.

Stock price volatility may negatively impact the price at which our common stock may be sold, and may also negatively impact the timing of any sale. Our stock price may fluctuate widely in response to a variety of factors including the risk factors described herein and, among other things:


•	actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results, financial condition or credit quality;


•	changes in business or economic conditions;


•	recommendations or research reports about us or the financial services industry in general published by securities analysts;


•	the failure of securities analysts to continue to cover us;


•	changes in financial estimates or publication of research reports and recommendations by financial analysts or actions taken by rating agencies with respect to us or other financial institutions;


•	reports in the press or investment community generally or relating to our reputation or the financial services industry, whether or not those reports are based on accurate, complete or transparent data;


•	news reports relating to trends, concerns and other issues in the financial services industry;


•	reports related to the impact of natural or man-made disasters in our markets;

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•	perceptions in the marketplace regarding us and/or our competitors;


•	significant acquisitions or business combinations, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by or involving us or our competitors;


•	additional investments from third parties;


•	additions or departures of key personnel;


•	future sales or issuance of additional shares of stock;


•	actions of one or more investors in selling our common stock short;


•	fluctuations in the stock price and operating results of our competitors;


•	changes or proposed changes in laws or regulations, or differing interpretations thereof affecting our business, or enforcement of these laws or regulations;


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


•	geopolitical conditions such as acts or threats of terrorism, pandemics or military conflicts.

The market price of our stock could be negatively affected by sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public markets.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that large sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline or limit our future ability to raise capital through an offering of equity securities.

As of December 31, 2019, there were 55,999,754 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, including 717,999 shares of restricted stock that had yet to vest. Of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock, all of these shares will be freely transferable, except for any shares held by our "affiliates," as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Trusts established for the benefit of the Chairman of our board of directors, Victor S. Trione, our former director and Secretary, Mark Trione and his wife, and each of the adult children of Messrs. Trione, collectively referred to as the Trione Family Trusts, currently control 71.5% of our common stock. This stock can be resold into the public markets in accordance with the requirements of Rule 144. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, may result in a decline in the price of our common stock and may impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional common stock or other equity securities.

Trading in our common stock has been moderate. As a result, shareholders may not be able to quickly and easily sell their common stock, particularly in large quantities.

Although our common stock is listed for trading on NASDAQ and a number of brokers offer to make a market in our common stock on a regular basis, trading volume to date has been moderate, averaging 31,000 shares per trading day from January 2, 2020 through February 28, 2020. There can be no assurance that a more active and liquid market for our common stock will develop or can be maintained. As a result, shareholders may find it difficult to sell a significant number of shares of our common stock at the prevailing market price.

There are substantial regulatory limitations on changes of control of bank holding companies that may discourage investors from purchasing shares of our common stock.

With limited exceptions, federal regulations prohibit a person or company or a group of persons deemed to be "acting in concert" from, directly or indirectly, acquiring more than 10% (5% if the acquirer is a bank holding company) of any class of our voting stock or obtaining the ability to control in any manner the election of a majority of the directors or otherwise direct the management or policies of our company without prior notice or application to, and the approval of, the Federal Reserve. Companies investing in banks and bank holding companies receive additional review and may be required to become bank holding companies, subject to regulatory supervision. Accordingly, prospective investors must be aware of and comply with these requirements, if applicable, in connection with any purchase of shares of our common stock. These provisions could discourage third parties from seeking to acquire significant interests in us or in attempting to acquire control of us, which, in turn, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

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We may not pay dividends on our common stock in the future.

Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive only such dividends as our board of directors may declare out of funds legally available for such payments. Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, change the amount or frequency of dividends or discontinue the payment of dividends entirely. In addition, we are a bank holding company, and our ability to declare and pay dividends is dependent on federal regulatory considerations, including the guidelines of the Federal Reserve regarding capital adequacy and dividends. It is the policy of the Federal Reserve that bank holding companies should generally pay dividends on common stock only out of earnings, and only if prospective earnings retention is consistent with the organization's expected future needs, asset quality and financial condition.

We are controlled by trusts established for the benefit of members of the Trione family, whose interests in our business may be different from yours.

As of December 31, 2019, the Trione Family Trusts control 71.5% of our common stock and if they vote in the same manner, are able to determine the outcome of all matters put to a shareholder vote, including the election of directors, the approval of mergers, material acquisitions and dispositions and other extraordinary transactions, and amendments to our articles of incorporation, bylaws and other corporate governance documents. So long as the Trione Family Trusts continue to own a majority of our common stock, they will have the ability, if they vote in the same manner, to prevent any transaction that requires shareholder approval regardless of whether others believe the transaction is in our best interests. In any of these matters, the interests of the Trione Family Trusts may differ from or conflict with the interests of our other shareholders. Moreover, this concentration of stock ownership may also adversely affect the trading price of our common stock, if investors perceive disadvantages in owning stock of a company with a controlling group.

We are a "controlled company" within the meaning of the rules of NASDAQ and, as a result, qualify for, and may rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. As a result, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

We are a "controlled company" within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of NASDAQ. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a "controlled company" and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors and to have board-level compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees consisting entirely of independent directors.

We do not intend to rely on these exemptions, but we may, in the future, take advantage of some of these exemptions for as long as we continue to qualify as a "controlled company." Accordingly, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ.

We may issue additional equity securities, or engage in other transactions, which could affect the priority of our common stock, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our board of directors may determine from time to time that we need to raise additional capital by issuing additional shares of our common stock or other securities. We are not restricted from issuing additional shares of common stock, including securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of any future offerings, or the prices at which such offerings may be effected. Such offerings could be dilutive to common shareholders. We may also issue shares of preferred stock that will provide new investors with rights, preferences and privileges that are senior to, and that adversely affect, our then current common shareholders. Additionally, if we raise additional capital by making additional offerings of debt or preferred equity securities, upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock, and lenders with respect to other borrowings, will receive distributions of our available assets prior to the holders of our common stock. Additional equity offerings may dilute the holdings of our existing shareholders or reduce the market price of our common stock, or both. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights or other protections against dilution.

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Future equity issuances could result in dilution, which could cause our common stock price to decline and future sales of our common stock could depress the market price of our common stock.

Our charter permits us to issue up to an aggregate of 100 million shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2019, 55,999,754 shares of our common stock were issued and outstanding. An additional 2,332,775 shares have been reserved for future issuance pursuant to the Luther Burbank Corporation Omnibus Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan. Our charter permits us to issue up to an aggregate of 5 million shares of preferred stock. A future issuance of any new shares of our common stock would, and equity-related securities could, cause further dilution in the value of our outstanding shares of common stock.

Our corporate governance documents, and corporate and banking laws applicable to us, could make a takeover more difficult and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Certain provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws, and corporate and federal banking laws, could delay, defer, or prevent a third party from acquiring control of our organization or conducting a proxy contest, even if those events were perceived by many of our shareholders as beneficial to their interests. These provisions and regulations applicable to us:


•	enable our board of directors to issue additional shares of authorized, but unissued capital stock;


•	enable our board of directors to issue "blank check" preferred stock with such designations, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the board;


•	do not provide for cumulative voting rights;


•	enable our board of directors to amend our bylaws without stockholder approval;


•	limit the right of shareholders to call a special meeting;


•	require advance notice for director nominations and other stockholder proposals; and


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

These provisions may discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control, including under circumstances in which our shareholders might otherwise receive a premium over the market price of our shares. In addition, as of the date hereof, the Trione Family Trusts will own shares sufficient for the majority vote over all matters requiring a stockholder vote, which may delay, deter or prevent acts that would be favored by our other shareholders.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our corporate headquarters is located at 520 Third Street, Santa Rosa, California. In addition to our corporate headquarters, the Bank operates ten full service branches in California located in Sonoma, Marin, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles Counties and one full service branch in Washington located in King County. This includes a California full service branch that opened in January 2020. We also operate seven loan production offices located throughout California, as well as a loan production office in Clackamas County, Oregon. Other than our main branch in Santa Rosa, California, which we own, we lease all of our other offices. For additional information regarding properties of the Company see Note 6. "Premises and Equipment" in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data".

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are party to legal actions that are routine and incidental to our business. Given the nature, scope and complexity of the extensive legal and regulatory landscape applicable to our business, we, like all banking organizations, are subject to heightened regulatory compliance and legal risk. However, based on available information, management does not expect the ultimate disposition of any or a combination of these actions to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II.

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

Market Information and Holders of Record

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market under the trading symbol "LBC". As of March 2, 2020, we had approximately 2,441 record holders. On March 2, 2020 our stock closed at $10.70.

Stock Performance Graph

The performance graph and table below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on the common stock of the Company with the cumulative total return on the equity securities included in (i) the Russell 2000 Index, which measures the performance of the smallest 2,000 members by market cap of the Russell Index and (ii) the SNL U.S. Bank and Thrift Index, which reflects the performance of U.S. companies that do business as regional banks or thrifts.

The graph assumes an initial $100 investment on December 8, 2017, the date that the stock of the Company began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market through December 31, 2019, the final trading day of 2019. Data for the Russell 2000 and the SNL U.S. Bank and Thrift Index assume reinvestment of dividends. Returns are shown on a total return basis. The performance graph represents past performance and should not be considered to be an indication of future performance. This graph is not deemed filed with the SEC.

https://cdn.kscope.io/3ad504cf654fb209d5674f0c0f50eac7-capturea01.jpg

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	Period Ended
Index	12/8/17	12/31/17	3/31/18	6/30/18	9/30/18	12/31/18	3/31/19	6/30/19	9/30/19	12/31/19
Luther Burbank Corporation	100.00	102.47	102.33	98.48	93.63	78.09	87.95	95.36	99.76	102.03
Russell 2000 Index	100.00	101.03	100.95	108.78	112.67	89.91	103.02	105.18	102.65	112.85
SNL U.S. Bank and Thrift Index	100.00	100.50	99.52	98.30	100.08	83.49	90.69	96.13	98.84	112.83

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

Dividend Policy

Prior to our initial public offering in December 2017, we were an S-Corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As an S-Corporation, we historically made distributions to our shareholders to provide them with funds to pay U.S. federal income tax on their taxable income that was “passed through” to them, as well as additional amounts for returns on capital. Following our initial public offering, our board of directors declared a cash dividend to our shareholders that existed prior to the offering in the amount of $40.0 million, which was intended to be non-taxable to them and represented a significant portion of our S-Corporation earnings that had been, or would be, taxed to our shareholders, but not distributed to them. The Company also declared cash dividends to our shareholders that existed prior to the offering in the amount of $7.1 million on December 1, 2017 and $5.2 million on March 21, 2018 to fund the payment of 2017 taxes that were ‘‘passed through’’ to them by virtue of our status as an S-Corporation. Purchasers of our common stock in the initial public offering were not entitled to receive any portion of these distributions.

Following our initial public offering and our conversion to a C-Corporation, our dividend policy and practice changed. We no longer pay distributions to our shareholders to pay U.S. federal income taxes on their pro rata portion of our taxable income.

Holders of our common stock are only entitled to receive dividends when, and if, declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for dividends.

Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made by our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including general and economic conditions, industry standards, our financial condition and operating results, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, our ability to service debt obligations senior to our common stock, banking regulations, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions, and limitations on the payment of dividends by us to our shareholders or by the Bank to us, and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant.

Because we are a bank holding company and do not engage directly in business activities of a material nature, our ability to pay any dividends on our common stock depends, in large part, upon our receipt of dividends from our Bank, which is also subject to numerous limitations on the payment of dividends under federal and state banking laws, regulations and policies.

Subject to the discretion of our board of directors, commencing in the second quarter of 2018, the Company established a regular quarterly cash dividend on our common stock of $0.0575 per share. Although we currently intend to pay dividends according to our dividend policy, there can be no assurance that we will pay any dividend to holders of our stock, or as to the amount of any such dividends. Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, can change the amount or frequency of this dividend or discontinue the payment of dividends entirely at any time.

The following table shows the dividends that have been declared on our common stock with respect to the periods indicated below. The per share amounts are presented to the nearest cent.

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(dollars in thousands except per share data)	Amount per share		Total cash dividend
Quarter ended March 31, 2018	$	0.11	$	6,061
Quarter ended June 30, 2018	0.06		3,303
Quarter ended September 30, 2018	0.06		3,300
Quarter ended December 31, 2018	0.06		3,301
Quarter ended March 31, 2019	0.06		3,294
Quarter ended June 30, 2019	0.06		3,267
Quarter ended September 30, 2019	0.06		3,234
Quarter ended December 31, 2019	0.06		3,237

Dividend Limitations. California law places limits on the amount of dividends the Bank may pay to the Company without prior approval. Prior regulatory approval is required to pay dividends which exceed the lesser of the Bank’s retained earnings or the Bank’s retained net income for the prior three fiscal years. State and federal bank regulatory agencies also have authority to prohibit a bank from paying dividends if such payment is deemed to be an unsafe or unsound practice, and the Federal Reserve has the same authority over bank holding companies. We would not be able to pay a dividend in excess of our retained earnings, or where our liabilities would exceed our assets.

The Federal Reserve has established requirements with respect to the maintenance of appropriate levels of capital by registered bank holding companies. Compliance with such standards, as presently in effect, or as they may be amended from time to time, could possibly limit the amount of dividends that we may pay in the future. The Federal Reserve has issued guidance on the payment of cash dividends by bank holding companies. In the statement, the Federal Reserve expressed its view that a holding company experiencing earnings weaknesses should not pay cash dividends exceeding its net income, or which could only be funded in ways that weaken the holding company’s financial health, such as by borrowing. Under Federal Reserve guidance, as a general matter, the board of directors of a holding company should inform the Federal Reserve and should eliminate, defer, or significantly reduce the dividends if: (i) the holding company’s net income available to shareholders for the past four quarters, net of dividends previously paid during that period, is not sufficient to fully fund the dividends; (ii) the holding company’s prospective rate of earnings retention is not consistent with its capital needs and overall current and prospective financial condition; or (iii) the holding company will not meet, or is in danger of not meeting, its minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratios. As a depository institution, the deposits of which are insured by the FDIC, the Bank may not pay dividends or distribute any of its capital assets while it remains in default on any assessment due the FDIC. The Bank currently is not in default under any of its obligations to the FDIC.

Purchases of Equity Securities

The table below summarizes the Company's monthly repurchases of equity securities during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 (dollars in thousands, except per share data):



Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1)	Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Program (1)
October 1-31, 2019	—	$	—	—	$	4,714
November 1-30, 2019	—	—		—	4,714
December 1-31, 2019	—	—		—	4,714
Total	—	$	—	—	$	4,714

(1) In August 2018, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to $15.0 million of the Company's common stock from August 17, 2018 through December 31, 2019 (the "Repurchase Program"), which was announced by press release and Current Report on Form 8-K on August 16, 2018 and August 17, 2018, respectively. Under the Repurchase Program, the Company may acquire its common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, including 10b5-1 plans. The Repurchase Program may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time without notice. In December 2018, the Company adopted a systematic stock repurchase plan in accordance with, and as part of, the Repurchase Program. The plan was effective from December 17, 2018

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until two days following the Company's release of its 2018 year-end financial results and was announced by press release and Current Report on Form 8-K on December 14, 2018. In January 2019, the Company adopted a systematic stock repurchase plan in accordance with, and as part of, the Repurchase Program. The plan was effective from January 31, 2019 until December 31, 2019 and was announced by Current Report on Form 8-K on February 1, 2019. These plans were adopted under the guidelines specified by Rule 10b5-1 and under Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Company's Insider Trading Policy. On October 23, 2019, the plan was extended from December 31, 2019 to December 31, 2020 and was announced by Current Report on Form 8-K on October 23, 2019.

Shares Eligible for Sale Pursuant to Rule 144

An aggregate of 40 million shares of common stock held by the Trione Family Trusts, which were issued in private transactions, are eligible for sale in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following table sets forth the Company’s selected historical consolidated financial data for the years and as of the dates indicated. You should read this information together with Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected historical consolidated financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected historical consolidated financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 (except as otherwise noted below) are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company’s historical results for any prior period are not necessarily indicative of future performance.



(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	As of or For the Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	2019			2018			2017			2016			2015
Statements of Income and Financial Condition Data
Net income	$	48,861		$	45,060		$	69,384		$	52,121		$	35,392
Pre-tax, pre-provision net earnings (1)	$	70,714		$	66,531		$	61,859		$	41,237		$	29,498
Total assets	$	7,045,828		$	6,937,212		$	5,704,380		$	5,063,585		$	4,361,779
Per Common Share (2)
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.87		$	0.79		$	1.62		$	1.24		$	0.84
Book value per share	$	10.97		$	10.31		$	9.74		$	9.63		$	8.84
Tangible book value per share (1)	$	10.91		$	10.25		$	9.68		$	9.55		$	8.76
Actual/Pro Forma Net Income and Per Common Share Data (1)
Actual/pro forma net income	$	48,861		$	45,060		$	37,834		$	31,285		$	21,251
Actual/pro forma diluted earnings per share (2)	$	0.87		$	0.79		$	0.88		$	0.74		$	0.51
Selected Ratios
Return on average:
Assets	0.69		%	0.70		%	1.26		%	1.11		%	0.88		%
Stockholders' equity	8.15		%	7.96		%	16.30		%	13.35		%	9.85		%
Dividend payout ratio	26.67		%	35.43		%	97.72		%	32.23		%	33.34		%
Net interest margin	1.84		%	1.98		%	2.05		%	2.04		%	2.11		%
Efficiency ratio (1)	46.86		%	48.51		%	47.76		%	59.76		%	67.88		%
Noninterest expense to average assets	0.88		%	0.98		%	1.03		%	1.31		%	1.54		%
Loan to deposit ratio	119.03		%	122.59		%	127.59		%	133.17		%	123.52		%
Actual/Pro Forma Selected Ratios (1)
Actual/pro forma return on average assets	0.69		%	0.70		%	0.69		%	0.67		%	0.53		%
Actual/pro forma return on average stockholders' equity	8.15		%	7.96		%	8.89		%	8.02		%	5.91		%
Credit Quality Ratios
Allowance for loan losses to loans	0.58		%	0.56		%	0.60		%	0.75		%	1.18		%
Allowance for loan losses to nonperforming loans	568.47		%	1,705.47		%	437.91		%	1,251.80		%	708.75		%
Nonperforming assets to total assets	0.09		%	0.03		%	0.12		%	0.05		%	0.15		%
Net recoveries to average loans	0.01		%	0.01		%	0.01		%	0.01		%	0.00		%
Capital Ratios
Tier 1 leverage ratio	9.47		%	9.42		%	11.26		%	9.47		%	10.22		%
Total risk-based capital ratio	17.97		%	17.20		%	18.78		%	18.58		%	20.26		%

(1) Considered a non-GAAP financial measure. See Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - ‘‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’’ for a reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Tangible book value is defined as total assets less goodwill and total liabilities. Efficiency ratio is defined as the ratio of noninterest expense to net interest income plus noninterest income. Pre-tax, pre-provision net earnings is defined as net income before taxes and provision for loan losses. For periods prior to January 1, 2018, we calculate our pro forma net income, return on average assets and return on average stockholders' equity by adding back our franchise S-Corporation tax to net income, and using a combined C-Corporation effective tax rate for federal and California income taxes of 42.0%. This calculation reflects only the change in our status as an S-Corporation and does not give effect to any other transaction. Beginning January 1, 2018, our pro forma provision for tax expense is our actual C-Corporation provision.
(2) Earnings per common share, basic and diluted, book value per common share and actual/pro forma diluted earnings per share have been adjusted retroactively to reflect a 200-for-1 stock split effective April 27, 2017.

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

The following discussion and analysis is based on and should be read in conjunction with Item 6. "Selected Financial Data" and our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. However, because we conduct all of our material business operations through our bank subsidiary, Luther Burbank Savings, the discussion and analysis relates to activities primarily conducted by the Bank.

The following discussion and analysis is intended to facilitate the understanding and assessment of significant changes and trends in our business that accounted for the changes in our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018, and our financial condition at December 31, 2019 as compared to our financial condition at December 31, 2018.

In addition to historical information, 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 in the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” sections of this Annual Report, may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected results discussed in the forward-looking statements appearing in this discussion and analysis. Please read these sections carefully. We assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a bank holding company headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, and the parent company of Luther Burbank Savings, a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Gardena, California with $7.0 billion in assets at December 31, 2019. Our principal business is providing high-value, relationship-based banking products and services to our customers, which include real estate investors, professionals, entrepreneurs, depositors and commercial businesses. We generate most of our revenue from interest on loans and investments. Our primary source of funding for our loans is retail deposits and we place secondary reliance on wholesale funding, primarily borrowings from the FHLB and brokered deposits. Our largest expenses are interest on deposits and borrowings along with salaries and related employee benefits. Our principal lending products are real estate secured loans, consisting primarily of multifamily residential properties and jumbo single family residential properties on the West Coast.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and with general practices within the financial services industry. Application of these principles requires management to make complex and subjective estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under current circumstances. These assumptions form the basis for our judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from independent, objective sources. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis. Use of alternative assumptions may have resulted in significantly different estimates. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Our most significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 to our Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. We have identified the following accounting policies and estimates that, due to the difficult, subjective or complex judgments and assumptions inherent in those policies and estimates and the potential sensitivity of our financial statements to those judgments and assumptions, are critical to an understanding of our financial condition and results of operations. We believe that the judgments, estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our financial statements are reasonable and appropriate.

Pursuant to the JOBS Act, as an emerging growth company, we can elect to opt out of the extended transition period for adopting any new or revised accounting standards. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we may adopt the standard for the private company.

We have elected to take advantage of the scaled disclosures and other relief under the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of some or all of the reduced regulatory and reporting requirements that will be available to us under the JOBS Act, so long as we qualify as an emerging growth company.

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Allowance for Loan Losses

The allowance for loan losses is provided for probable incurred credit losses inherent in the loan portfolio at the statement of financial condition date. The allowance is increased by a provision charged to expense and reduced by loan principal charge-offs, net of recoveries. Where management determines that the allowance for loan losses is more than adequate to absorb the probable incurred credit losses in the portfolio, the allowance is reduced by recapturing provisions and a credit is made to the expense account. The allowance is based on management’s assessment of various factors including, but not limited to, the nature of the loan portfolio, previous loss experience, known and inherent risks in the portfolio, the estimated value of underlying collateral, information that may affect a borrower’s ability to repay, current economic conditions and the results of our ongoing reviews of the portfolio. In addition, various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review the Bank’s allowance. Such agencies may require the Bank to recognize additions to the allowance based on judgments different from those of management.

While we use available information, including independent appraisals for collateral, to estimate the extent of probable incurred loan losses within the loan portfolio, inherent uncertainties in the estimation process make it reasonably possible that ultimate losses may vary significantly from our original estimates. Generally, loans are partially or fully charged off when it is determined that the unpaid principal balance exceeds the current fair value of the collateral with no other likely source of repayment.

Fair Value Measurement

We use estimates of fair value in applying various accounting standards for our consolidated financial statements. Fair value is defined as the exit price at which an asset may be sold or a liability may be transferred in an orderly transaction between willing and able market participants. When available, fair value is measured by looking at observable market prices for identical assets and liabilities in an active market. When these are not available, other inputs are used to model fair value such as prices of similar instruments, yield curves, prepayment speeds and credit spreads. Depending on the availability of observable inputs and prices, different valuation models could produce materially different fair value estimates. The values presented may not represent future fair values and may not be realizable.

Changes in the fair value of debt securities available for sale and derivatives designated as effective cash flow hedges are recorded in our consolidated statements of financial condition and comprehensive income (loss) while changes in the fair value of equity securities, loans held for sale or other derivatives are recorded in the consolidated statements of financial condition and in the consolidated statements of income.

Investment Securities Impairment

We assess, on a quarterly basis, whether there have been any events or economic circumstances to indicate that a security in which we have an unrealized loss is impaired on an other than temporary basis. In any instance, we would consider many factors, including the severity and duration of the impairment, the portion of any unrealized loss attributable to a decline in the credit quality of an issuer, our intent and ability to hold the security for a period of time sufficient for a recovery in value, recent events specific to the issuer or industry, and, for debt securities, external credit ratings and recent downgrades. Securities with respect to which there is an unrealized loss that is deemed to be other than temporary are written down to fair value.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Some of the financial measures discussed in Item 6. Selected Financial Data are ‘‘non-GAAP financial measures.’’ In accordance with SEC rules, we classify a financial measure as being a non-GAAP financial measure if that financial measure excludes or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding or including amounts, that are included or excluded, as the case may be, in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP as in effect from time to time in the United States in our consolidated statements financial condition, income or cash flows.

Pre-tax, pre-provision net earnings is defined as net income before taxes and provision for (reversal of) loan losses. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is income before taxes. Disclosure of this measure enables you to compare our operations to those of other banking companies before consideration of taxes and provision

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expense, which some investors may consider to be a more appropriate comparison given our S-Corporation status in prior years and recaptures from the allowance for loan losses. Prior to January 1, 2018, we calculate our pro forma net income, return on average assets, return on average equity and per share amounts by adding back our franchise S-Corporation tax to net income, and using a combined C-Corporation effective tax rate for federal and California income taxes of 42.0%. This calculation reflects only the change in our status as an S-Corporation and does not give effect to any other transaction. Beginning January 1, 2018, our pro forma income tax expense is our actual C-Corporation tax provision. Tangible book value is defined as total assets less goodwill and total liabilities. Efficiency ratio is defined as noninterest expenses divided by operating revenue, which is equal to net interest income plus noninterest income. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to management and investors that is supplementary to our consolidated statements of financial condition, income and cash flows computed in accordance with GAAP. However, we acknowledge that our non-GAAP financial measures have a number of limitations. As such, you should not view these disclosures as a substitute for results determined in accordance with GAAP, and they are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP financial measures that other banking companies use. Other banking companies may use names similar to those we use for the non-GAAP financial measures we disclose, but may calculate them differently. You should understand how we and other companies each calculate their non-GAAP financial measures when making comparisons.

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The following reconciliation table provides a more detailed analysis of these non-GAAP financial measures:



(Dollars in thousands except per share data)	As of or For the Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands except per share data)	2019			2018			2017			2016			2015
Pre-tax, Pre-provision Net Earnings
Income before provision for income taxes	$	69,464		$	62,931		$	65,231		$	53,940		$	36,639
Plus: Provision for (reversal of) loan losses	1,250			3,600			(3,372		)	(12,703		)	(7,141		)
Pre-tax, pre-provision net earnings	$	70,714		$	66,531		$	61,859		$	41,237		$	29,498
Efficiency Ratio
Noninterest expense (numerator)	$	62,368		$	62,687		$	56,544		$	61,242		$	62,339
Net interest income	128,407			125,087			110,895			94,594			84,879
Noninterest income	4,675			4,131			7,508			7,885			6,958
Operating revenue (denominator)	$	133,082		$	129,218		$	118,403		$	102,479		$	91,837
Efficiency ratio	46.86		%	48.51		%	47.76		%	59.76		%	67.88		%
Actual/Pro Forma Net Income
Income before provision for income taxes	$	69,464		$	62,931		$	65,231		$	53,940		$	36,639
Actual/pro forma provision for income taxes	20,603			17,871			27,397			22,655			15,388
Actual/pro forma net income (numerator)	$	48,861		$	45,060		$	37,834		$	31,285		$	21,251
Actual/Pro Forma Diluted Earnings Per Share
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted (denominator) (1)	56,219,892			56,825,402			42,957,936			42,000,000			42,000,000
Actual/pro forma diluted earnings per share	$	0.87		$	0.79		$	0.88		$	0.74		$	0.51
Actual/Pro Forma Return on Average Assets
Actual/pro forma net income (numerator)	$	48,861		$	45,060		$	37,834		$	31,285		$	21,251
Average assets (denominator)	$	7,066,547		$	6,405,931		$	5,485,832		$	4,676,676		$	4,040,381
Actual/pro forma return on average assets	0.69		%	0.70		%	0.69		%	0.67		%	0.53		%
Actual/Pro Forma Return on Average Stockholders' Equity
Actual/pro forma net income (numerator)	$	48,861		$	45,060		$	37,834		$	31,285		$	21,251
Average stockholders' equity (denominator)	$	599,574		$	566,275		$	425,698		$	390,318		$	359,359
Actual/pro forma return on average stockholders' equity	8.15		%	7.96		%	8.89		%	8.02		%	5.91		%
Tangible Book Value Per Share
Total assets	$	7,045,828		$	6,937,212		$	5,704,380		$	5,063,585		$	4,361,779
Less: Goodwill	(3,297		)	(3,297		)	(3,297		)	(3,297		)	(3,297		)
Tangible assets	7,042,531			6,933,915			5,701,083			5,060,288			4,358,482
Less: Total liabilities	(6,431,364		)	(6,356,067		)	(5,154,635		)	(4,659,210		)	(3,990,480		)
Tangible stockholders' equity (numerator)	$	611,167		$	577,848		$	546,448		$	401,078		$	368,002
Period end shares outstanding (denominator)	55,999,754			56,379,066			56,422,662			42,000,000			42,000,000
Tangible book value per share	$	10.91		$	10.25		$	9.68		$	9.55		$	8.76

(1) Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted has been adjusted retroactively to reflect a 200-for-1 stock split effective April 27, 2017.

Key Factors Affecting Our Business

Interest Rates

Net interest income is the largest 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-

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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 wholesale borrowings is primarily based on short-term interest rates, which are largely driven by the Federal Reserve’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 Federal Reserve’s actions. The level of net interest income is influenced by movements in such interest rates and the pace at which such movements occur.

Based on our liability sensitivity as discussed in Item 7A. ‘‘Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk’’, significant increases in interest rates and/or a flatter yield curve could have an adverse impact on our net interest income. Conversely, significant decreases in interest rates, particularly at the short end, and/or a steepened yield curve would be expected to benefit our net interest income.

Operating Efficiency

We have invested significantly in our infrastructure, including our management, lending teams, technology systems and risk management practices. As a result, our ratio of noninterest expenses to average assets has improved during the past several years. As we have begun to leverage these investments, our efficiency has generally improved.

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 and results of operations.

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 may experience continued pressure on our net interest margin 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 markets of California, Washington and Oregon where we 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.

Factors Affecting Comparability of Financial Results

S-Corporation Status

We terminated our status as a “Subchapter S” corporation as of December 1, 2017, in connection with our IPO. Prior to this date, we elected to be taxed for U.S. federal income tax purposes as an S-Corporation. As a result, our earnings were not subject to, and we did not pay, U.S. federal income tax, and we were not required to make any provision or recognize any liability for U.S. federal income tax in our financial statements. While we were not subject to and did not pay U.S. federal income tax, we were subject to, and paid, California S-Corporation income tax at a rate of 3.50%.

Upon the termination of our status as an S-Corporation on December 1, 2017, we commenced paying U.S. federal income tax and a higher California income tax on our taxable earnings and our financial statements reflect a provision for both U.S. federal income tax and California income tax. As a result of this change, the net income and earnings per share data presented in our historical financial statements and the other financial information set forth in this Annual Report, which unless otherwise specified, do not include any provision for U.S. federal income tax, will not be comparable with our net income and earnings per share in periods after we commenced being taxed as a C-Corporation. As a C-Corporation, our net income is calculated by including a provision for U.S. federal income tax, currently at 21.00%,

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and a California income tax rate, currently at 10.84%.

As an S-Corporation, we made quarterly cash distributions to our shareholders in amounts estimated by us to be sufficient for them to pay estimated individual U.S. federal and California income tax liabilities resulting from our taxable income that was ‘‘passed through’’ to them. However, these distributions were not consistent, as sometimes the distributions were less than or in excess of the shareholders' estimated U.S. federal and California income tax liabilities resulting from their ownership of our stock. In addition, these estimates were based on individual income tax rates, which may differ from the rates imposed on the income of C-Corporations. Subsequent to the termination of our S-Corporation status on December 1, 2017, other than our obligations under the tax sharing agreement with prior S-Corporation shareholders, no further income will be ‘‘passed through’’ to shareholders for any estimated tax liabilities.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of our existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.

Multifamily Securitization Transaction

During 2017, we entered into a trust sale memorandum of understanding with Freddie Mac, pursuant to which we agreed to sell a portfolio of multifamily loans to a real estate mortgage investment conduit ("REMIC"), that holds the loans in trust and issued securities that are fully guaranteed by Freddie Mac and privately offered and sold to investors. On September 27, 2017, we closed this securitization transaction. We did not purchase any of the securities for our portfolio.

The primary purpose of this multifamily securitization transaction was to enable us to redeploy capital and funding to support higher-yielding assets while also reducing our reliance on wholesale funding, improving liquidity measures and reducing our concentration of multifamily loans.

The size of the multifamily loan portfolio sold to the REMIC was $626.1 million, consisting of one class of post-reset, variable rate 3, 5, and 7-year hybrid loans in an aggregate principal amount of approximately $91.6 million, and two classes of pre-reset, variable rate 3, 5 and 7-year hybrid loans in an aggregate principal amount of approximately $534.5 million. 74.3% of the loan portfolio consisted of loans for multifamily properties located in California, while the remaining 25.7% of the loan portfolio consisted of loans for multifamily properties located in Washington. We retained sub-servicing obligations on the loan portfolio. The gross proceeds of this sale to us was approximately $637.6 million. We used the proceeds of this sale to pay down short-term FHLB borrowings. These borrowings had no prepayment penalties associated with them. The following table summarizes the loans that were sold in this securitization.



(Dollars in thousands)	Number of Mortgage Loans (1)	Principal Balance (1)		Percentage of Mortgage Pool Balance		Weighted Average Mortgage Rate (1)		Loan to Value Ratio (1)		Debt Service Coverage Ratio (1)
Loan Type	Number of Mortgage Loans (1)	Principal Balance (1)		Percentage of Mortgage Pool Balance		Weighted Average Mortgage Rate (1)		Loan to Value Ratio (1)		Debt Service Coverage Ratio (1)
Post-Reset Hybrid Loans	65	$	91,552	14.6	%	3.66	%	53.2	%	1.88
Pre-Reset Hybrid Loans (2)	237	415,628		66.4	%	3.39	%	54.2	%	1.67
Pre-Reset Hybrid Loans (3)	70	118,880		19.0	%	3.51	%	46.5	%	1.70
Total	372	$	626,060	100.0	%	3.45	%	52.6	%	1.71


(1)	Represents number of loans, balance, weighted average rate and ratios at the security cut-off date of September 1, 2017.


(2)	Loans had 1 to 40 months until their first rate reset at the security cut-off date of September 1, 2017.


(3)	Loans had 41 or more months until their first rate reset at the security cut-off date of September 1, 2017.

In connection with the securitization, we entered into a reimbursement agreement with Freddie Mac, pursuant to which we are obligated to reimburse Freddie Mac for the first losses in the underlying loan portfolio not to exceed 10% of the unpaid principal amount of the loans comprising the securitization pool at settlement, or approximately $62.6 million. Our reimbursement obligation is supported by a FHLB letter of credit. Our reimbursement obligation will terminate on the later of (i) the date on which Freddie Mac has no further liability (accrued or contingent) under its guarantee for these securities or (ii) the date on which we shall pay to Freddie Mac our full reimbursement obligation. As of December 31, 2019, the aggregate remaining loan balance in the securitization loans was $355.2 million. No disbursements have been made in connection with the reimbursement obligation.

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Public Company Costs

As a result of our initial public offering completed in December 2017, we are incurring additional costs associated with operating as a public company. These costs include additional personnel, legal, consulting, regulatory, insurance, accounting, investor relations and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules adopted by the SEC and national securities exchanges, requires public companies to implement specified corporate governance practices that were inapplicable to us as a private company. These additional rules and regulations increased our legal, regulatory and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly.

Results of Operations - Years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

Overview

For the year ended December 31, 2019 our net income was $48.9 million as compared to $45.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase of $3.8 million, or 8.4%, was primarily attributable to an increase of $3.3 million in net interest income, a $2.4 million decrease in the provision for loan losses and an increase of $544 thousand in noninterest income, partially offset by an increase of $2.7 million in the provision for income taxes as compared to the prior year. Pre-tax, pre-provision net earnings increased by $4.2 million, or 6.3%, for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the prior year.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income increased by $3.3 million, or 2.7%, to $128.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 from $125.1 million for the prior year primarily related to growth in the average balance and yield of our loan portfolio of $577.9 million and 26 basis points, respectively. The improvement in net interest income was further enhanced by growth in the average balance and yield of our investment portfolio, which increased by $76.7 million and 21 basis points, respectively. These increases were partially offset by growth in the average balance and cost of our interest-bearing deposits of $646.0 million and 50 basis points, respectively, and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the cost of FHLB advances of 18 basis points, compared to the prior year. Net interest margin for the year ended December 31, 2019 was 1.84%, compared to 1.98% for the prior year. The decline in net interest margin primarily relates to our rising cost of funds, which had generally outpaced the increases in yield on our interest-earning assets during the majority of this year, due to short-term rate increases at the end of 2018 and the flattening of the yield curve, which inverted for a period during 2019.

Average balance sheet, interest and yield/rate analysis. The following table presents average balance sheet information, interest income, interest expense and the corresponding average yield earned and rates paid for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017. The average balances are daily averages.

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	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2019						2018						2017
(Dollars in thousands)	Average Balance		Interest Inc/Exp		Yield/Rate		Average Balance		Interest Inc/Exp		Yield/Rate		Average Balance		Interest Inc/Exp		Yield/Rate
Interest-Earning Assets
Multifamily residential	$	3,870,897	$	162,328	4.19	%	$	3,321,691	$	127,950	3.85	%	$	2,897,794	$	101,708	3.51	%
Single family residential	2,139,517		76,766		3.59	%	2,149,154		75,906		3.53	%	1,828,668		59,498		3.25	%
Commercial real estate	196,903		9,353		4.75	%	147,494		6,935		4.70	%	78,032		3,678		4.71	%
Construction, land and NM	15,907		1,083		6.81	%	27,013		1,044		3.86	%	45,400		1,689		3.72	%
Total Loans (1)	6,223,224		249,530		4.01	%	5,645,352		211,835		3.75	%	4,849,894		166,573		3.43	%
Investment securities	661,574		15,461		2.34	%	584,898		12,430		2.13	%	477,792		6,739		1.41	%
Cash and cash equivalents	105,042		2,151		2.05	%	98,524		1,792		1.82	%	87,780		925		1.05	%
Total interest-earning assets	6,989,840		267,142		3.82	%	6,328,774		226,057		3.57	%	5,415,466		174,237		3.22	%
Noninterest-earning assets (2)	76,707						77,157						70,366
Total assets	$	7,066,547					$	6,405,931					$	5,485,832
Interest-Bearing Liabilities
Transaction accounts	$	210,743	2,686		1.26	%	$	176,725	1,541		0.86	%	$	196,127	1,553		0.78	%
Money market demand accounts	1,402,608		18,181		1.28	%	1,464,952		14,954		1.01	%	1,495,794		12,099		0.80	%
Time deposits	3,538,223		84,225		2.35	%	2,863,852		52,617		1.81	%	1,972,747		25,161		1.26	%
Total deposits	5,151,574		105,092		2.01	%	4,505,529		69,112		1.51	%	3,664,668		38,813		1.04	%
FHLB advances	1,056,557		24,896		2.36	%	1,069,216		23,285		2.18	%	1,160,555		16,555		1.43	%
Junior subordinated debentures	61,857		2,447		3.96	%	61,857		2,266		3.66	%	61,857		1,665		2.69	%
Senior debt	94,350		6,300		6.68	%	94,223		6,307		6.69	%	94,090		6,309		6.71	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities	6,364,338		138,735		2.16	%	5,730,825		100,970		1.74	%	4,981,170		63,342		1.26	%
Noninterest-bearing deposit accounts	41,821						51,152						22,556
Noninterest-bearing liabilities	60,814						57,679						56,408
Total liabilities	6,466,973						5,839,656						5,060,134
Total stockholders' equity	599,574						566,275						425,698
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	7,066,547					$	6,405,931					$	5,485,832

Net interest spread (3)					1.66	%					1.83	%					1.96	%
Net interest income/margin (4)			$	128,407	1.84	%			$	125,087	1.98	%			$	110,895	2.05	%

(1)

Non-accrual loans and loans held for sale are included in total loan balances. No adjustment has been made for these loans in the calculation of yields. Interest income on loans includes amortization of deferred loan costs, net of deferred loan fees. Net deferred loan cost amortization totaled $14.6 million, $10.2 million and $9.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.


(2)	Noninterest-earning assets includes the allowance for loan losses.


(3)	Net interest spread is the average yield on total interest-earning assets minus the average rate on total interest-bearing liabilities.


(4)	Net interest margin is net interest income divided by total interest-earning assets.

Interest rates and operating interest differential. Increases and decreases in interest income and interest expense result from changes in average balances (volume) of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, as well as changes in average interest rates. The following table shows the effect that these factors had on the interest earned from our interest-earning assets and interest incurred on our interest-bearing liabilities during the periods indicated. The effect of changes in volume is determined by multiplying the change in volume by the prior period’s average rate. The effect of rate changes is calculated by multiplying the change in average rate by the prior period’s volume. The change in interest due to both rate and volume has been allocated to rate and volume changes in proportion to the relationship of the absolute dollar amounts of the changes in each.

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	For the Years Ended December 31, 2019 vs 2018
	Variance Due To
(Dollars in thousands)	Volume			Yield/Rate			Total
Interest-Earning Assets
Multifamily residential	$	22,409		$	11,969		$	34,378
Single family residential	(359		)	1,219			860
Commercial real estate	2,343			75			2,418
Construction, land and NM	(544		)	583			39
Total Loans	23,849			13,846			37,695
Investment securities	1,730			1,301			3,031
Cash and cash equivalents	123			236			359
Total interest-earning assets	25,702			15,383			41,085
Interest-Bearing Liabilities
Transaction accounts	335			810			1,145
Money market demand accounts	(643		)	3,870			3,227
Time deposits	13,943			17,665			31,608
Total deposits	13,635			22,345			35,980
FHLB advances	(281		)	1,892			1,611
Junior subordinated debentures	—			181			181
Senior debt	5			(12		)	(7		)
Total interest-bearing liabilities	13,359			24,406			37,765

Net Interest Income	$	12,343		$	(9,023	)	$	3,320



	For the Years Ended December 31, 2018 vs 2017
	Variance Due To
(Dollars in thousands)	Volume			Yield/Rate			Total
Interest-Earning Assets
Multifamily residential	$	15,788		$	10,454		$	26,242
Single family residential	11,001			5,407			16,408
Commercial real estate	3,265			(8		)	3,257
Construction, land and NM	(707		)	62			(645		)
Total Loans	29,347			15,915			45,262
Investment securities	1,736			3,955			5,691
Cash and cash equivalents	124			743			867
Total interest-earning assets	31,207			20,613			51,820
Interest-Bearing Liabilities
Transaction accounts	(160		)	148			(12		)
Money market demand accounts	(250		)	3,105			2,855
Time deposits	13,963			13,493			27,456
Total deposits	13,553			16,746			30,299
FHLB advances	(1,393		)	8,123			6,730
Junior subordinated debentures	—			601			601
Senior debt	12			(14		)	(2		)
Total interest-bearing liabilities	12,172			25,456			37,628

Net Interest Income	$	19,035		$	(4,843	)	$	14,192

Total interest income increased by $41.1 million, or 18.2%, for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the prior year. The increase was primarily due to a $37.7 million increase in interest income earned on loans resulting from growth in the average daily balance of loans, which increased by $577.9 million, or 10.2%, as compared to the

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prior year, as well as a 26 basis point increase in our loan yield. The increase in the average balance of loans during the current year was primarily attributable to substantial loan growth during the year ended December 31, 2018, which significantly impacted the average balance of our loans outstanding during 2019 relative to the prior year. The 26 basis point increase in yield compared to the prior year was primarily a result of the rate on new loan originations generally exceeding the rate on loan payoffs since early 2017 through mid 2019, as well as $2.1 million in swap income earned during the year ended December 31, 2019. Additionally, interest income on investments increased by $3.0 million due to an increase in the average daily balance and yield on investment securities of $76.7 million and 21 basis points, respectively.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, total loans increased by $1.1 billion compared to an increase of $100.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. The volume of new loans originated totaled $1.6 billion and $2.0 billion for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The decreased originations were primarily due to a slowing in demand for hybrid real estate loans, as a result of a flattening in the yield curve, which inverted for a portion of 2019. The weighted average rate on new loans for the year ended December 31, 2019 was 4.35% as compared to 4.63% for the prior year. The decline in the average coupon for the current year originations compared to the prior year was due to the current year decline in five-year or longer term market interest rates, as well as competitive pricing pressures. Loan payoffs and paydowns totaled $1.4 billion and $956.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The weighted average rate on loan payoffs during the year ended December 31, 2019 was 4.27% as compared to 4.05% for the prior year.

Total interest expense increased $37.8 million to $138.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 from $101.0 million for the prior year. Interest expense on deposits increased $36.0 million to $105.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 from $69.1 million for the prior year. This increase was due to the cost of interest-bearing deposits increasing 50 basis points, as well as average daily deposit balances increasing by $646.0 million, or 14.3%, from period to period. The increase in the cost of our deposits was primarily related to repricing in our time deposit portfolio, which had been impacted by rising short-term interest rates in the prior year and competitive pricing pressures. Interest expense on advances from the FHLB increased by $1.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the prior year. This increase was primarily attributable to a 18 basis point increase in the cost of those advances as compared to the prior year. The increase in the cost of FHLB advances was primarily caused by the change in the average cost and balance of our short-term FHLB borrowings, which fluctuated from 1.76% and $221.1 million, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2018, to 2.52% and $51.8 million, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2019. We use both deposits and FHLB advances to fund net loan growth. We also use FHLB advances, with or without embedded interest rate caps, as a hedge of interest rate risk, as we can strategically control the duration of those funds. A discussion of instruments used to mitigate interest rate risk can be found under Part II - Item 7A. ‘‘Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.’’

Provision for Loan Losses

Provision for loan losses totaled $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to loan loss provisions of $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The lower loan loss provisions were primarily due to slower loan growth as compared to the prior year. During the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we recorded loan recoveries of $437 thousand and $402 thousand, respectively. We recorded no loan charge-offs during those same years. This was due in large part to minimal balances of problem loans, as well as strong collateral support of our credits attributed to our lower loan to value ratios and a healthy real estate market. Our allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans was 0.58% at December 31, 2019 as compared to 0.56% at December 31, 2018.

Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans increased to 0.10% at December 31, 2019 from 0.03% at December 31, 2018, and 53% and 61% of nonperforming loans, by balance, were current and paying as agreed at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase in nonperforming loans was primarily due to several single family residential loans being placed on nonaccrual status during the year ended December 31, 2019. At December 31, 2019, our classified loans as a percentage of total loans increased 7 basis points, to 0.19% from 0.12%, as compared to the prior year. Despite the increases in nonperforming and classified loans, the provisions for loan losses declined compared to the previous year due primarily to slower loan growth during the year ended December 31, 2019, as discussed above.

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Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased by $544 thousand to $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 from $4.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The following table presents the major components of our noninterest income:



	For the Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2019		2018		$ Increase (Decrease)			% Increase (Decrease)
Noninterest Income
Gain on sale of loans	$	607	$	140	$	467		333.6	%
FHLB dividends	2,163		2,735		(572		)	(20.9	)%
Fee income	674		764		(90		)	(11.8	)%
Other	1,231		492		739			150.2	%
Total noninterest incom