About First Bank

First Bank operates as a commercial bank that offers various banking products and services. The company is headquartered in Hamilton, Mercer County, in central New Jersey. The company operated full-service branches located in Cinnaminson, Cranbury, Delanco, Denville, Ewing, Flemington (2), Hamilton, Lawrence, Monroe, Pennington, Randolph, Somerset and Williamstown, New Jersey; and Doylestown, Trevose, Warminster and West Chester, Pennsylvania. The company’s primary service regions include Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties in central New Jersey; Essex, Hudson, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties in northern New Jersey; Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in eastern Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties in southern New Jersey. It targets business from individuals, businesses, and governmental entities located in its primary service regions throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, with a particular focus on the corridor between New York City and Philadelphia. The company focuses on traditional deposit and loan products. The majority of its deposits come from individuals living in close proximity to its branches. Most of its lending customers come from the New York City to Philadelphia corridor. Lending Activities The company offers a set of lending products to meet the needs of its customers located within its market areas, including commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans (owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans), residential real estate loans and consumer and other loans. Commercial and Industrial Loans: The company offers commercial and industrial loans to small to mid-sized businesses for general business purposes. Commercial and industrial loans are made on a line of credit and term basis to finance inventory, equipment or short-term working capital. These loans are secured by business assets with the personal guarantees of the principal owners. The terms of these loans are one to five years. Commercial Real Estate Loans: The company offers various real estate loans to businesses and real estate investors for the acquisition and refinancing of commercial real estate. Commercial real estate loans represent the major component of the company’s loan portfolio and are composed of owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans Owner-occupied (Commercial Real Estate Owner-Occupied (CREO)): CREO loans are made for the acquisition of new property or the refinancing of existing property. These loans typically relate to commercial businesses and are secured by the underlying real estate used in the business or real property of the principals. Investor (Commercial Real Estate Investor (CREI)): CREI loans include investor-owned and tenanted investment properties. The company provides various CREI loans secured by different types of properties including retail, industrial, office and mixed use. Construction and Development Loans: Construction and development loans are made to builders and developers who wish to build new residential or commercial structures. Construction and development loans include land loans to acquire vacant land for future development. Multi-Family Loans: Multi-family loans consist of loans secured by apartment buildings Residential Real Estate Loans: Residential real estate loans include residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans and revolving lines of credit. Residential mortgages and first lien home equity loans include loans made with first liens on owner-occupied one to four family residences. These loans tend to have longer terms of fifteen to thirty years and are originated on a fixed rate basis. The company also offers home equity loans as second lien loans and revolving lines of credit. Second lien home equity loans are originated on a fixed rate basis with terms of five, ten or fifteen years. Revolving lines of credit allow customers to borrow and pay back over the life of the loan (five, ten or fifteen years) with full repayment due at maturity and tend to be floating rate products. Consumer and Other Loans: The company offers various non-residential real estate loans to individuals for personal and household purposes, such as to finance the purchase of an automobile, and other loans. Investment Activities As of December 31, 2021, the company’s the investment securities portfolio included U.S. Treasury securities, residential mortgage-backed securities, tax-exempt obligations of state and political subdivisions, asset-backed securities and corporate obligations. Its residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) are all issued by the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal National Mortgage Association or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Deposit Activities and Other Sources of Funds Deposits are generated in the company’s markets through the offering of a selection of deposit instruments, including non-interest bearing demand deposits (checking accounts), interest bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit. In addition to accounts for individuals, the company offers commercial checking accounts and cash management services designed for the businesses operating in its market areas. Strategy The company’s business strategy is to continue to pursue business from those customers who, as a result of these trends, are underserved or undervalued by larger financial institutions. Regulation The company operates within a system of banking laws and regulations that are primarily intended to protect bank customers, depositors, the Deposit Insurance Fund and the banking system overall. These laws and regulations govern the permissible operations and management, activities, reserves, loans and investments of the company, and are not designed to provide protections to shareholders The company is a commercial bank chartered under the laws of the State of New Jersey and is subject to the New Jersey Banking Act of 1948. As such, it is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Each of these agencies regulates aspects of activities conducted by the company. The company is subject to various federal and state laws designed to protect borrowers and promote lending to various sectors of the economy and population. Federal laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which constitutes part of the Dodd-Frank Act and established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The company’s deposits are insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund, which is administered by the FDIC. The Dodd-Frank Act permanently increased the standard maximum deposit insurance amount per account to $250,000 for most insured depository institutions, including the company. The company received a ‘Satisfactory’ rating on its most recent the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 as amended, Performance Evaluation as of April 29, 2021. The company has in place a Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act compliance program and engages in few transactions of any kind with foreign financial institutions or foreign persons History First Bank was founded in 2007. The company was incorporated in 2007.