XML 23 R10.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT

Note 2 - Acquisition Activity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 2 – Acquisition Activity

On January 31, 2022, Finward completed its previously announced acquisition of Royal Financial, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“RYFL”), pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated July 28, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”) between Finward and RYFL. The stockholders of both Finward and RYFL approved the Merger Agreement at the respective stockholder meetings of the companies held on December 13, 2021. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, RYFL merged with and into Finward, with Finward as the surviving corporation (the “Merger”), and Royal Savings Bank, an Illinois state-chartered savings bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of RYFL, merged with and into Peoples Bank, the wholly-owned Indiana state-chartered commercial bank subsidiary of Finward, with Peoples Bank as the surviving bank.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, RYFL stockholders who owned 101 or more shares of RYFL common stock were permitted to elect to receive either 0.4609 shares of Finward common stock or $20.14 in cash, or a combination of both, for each share of RYFL common stock owned, subject to proration and allocation provisions such that 65% of the shares of RYFL common stock outstanding immediately prior to the closing of the merger were converted into the right to receive shares of Finward common stock and the remaining 35% of the outstanding RYFL shares were converted into the right to receive cash. Stockholders holding less than 101 shares of RYFL common stock received fixed consideration of $20.14 in cash per share and no stock consideration.

As a result of RYFL stockholder stock and cash elections and the related allocation and proration provisions of the merger agreement, Finward issued 795,423 shares of its common stock and paid cash consideration of approximately $18.7 million in the Merger. Based on the January 28, 2022, closing price of $47.75 per share of Finward common stock, the transaction had an implied valuation of approximately $56.7 million. In connection with the acquisition, Robert W. Youman, was appointed to the boards of directors of Finward and Peoples Bank effective as of the closing of the Merger. RYFL had a home office and eight branch offices in Cook County and DuPage County, Illinois. The acquisition has further expanded the Bank’s banking center network in Cook County and DuPage County, Illinois.

Under the acquisition method of accounting, the total purchase price is allocated to net tangible and intangible assets based on their current estimated fair values on the date of the acquisition. Based on the valuations of the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, which are based on estimates and assumptions that are subject to change, the final purchase price for the RYFL acquisition is allocated as follows (in thousands):

ASSETS
Cash and due from banks		$	52,524
Investment securities, available for sale			-
Certificate of deposit in other financial institutions			245

Total Loans			450,757

Premises and equipment, net			13,896
FHLB stock			1,303
Goodwill			11,286
Core deposit intangible			3,220
Interest receivable			1,836
Other assets			7,978
Total assets purchased		$	543,045
Common shares issued			37,981
Cash paid			18,725
Total purchase price		$	56,706

LIABILITIES
Deposits
Non-interest bearing		$	32,095
NOW accounts			63,639
Savings and money market			184,149
Certificates of deposits			195,153
Total Deposits			475,036

Interest payable			75
Other liabilities			11,228

Total liabilities assumed		$	486,339

During the year-ended December 31, 2022, adjustments were made to the carrying value of other assets of $409 thousand, due to the valuation of prepaids and deferred tax assets brought over in the acquisition, and premises and equipment, net, of $48 thousand, due to a correction in the valuation of buildings, and in addition, a correction was made to the valuation of shares issued increasing the value by $79 thousand. The resulting impact of these changes was a decrease to the goodwill balance related to the RYFL acquisition of $378 thousand. Goodwill related to the RYFL transaction is not expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

Goodwill of approximately $11.5 million, which is the excess of the acquisition consideration over the fair value of net assets acquired, has been recorded in the RYFL acquisition and is the result of expected operational synergies and other factors. This goodwill is not expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

Gross loans acquired during the RYFL transaction totaled $456.7 million.

The following pro-forma and earnings (unaudited) of the combined company are presented as if the RYFL merger had occurred on January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2022:

		For the twelve months ended				For the twelve months ended
(in thousands)		*December 31, 2023*				*December 31, 2022*
Selected Financial Data
Interest income		$	85,783			$	73,730
Interest expense			(31,228	)			(4,987	)
Provision for loan losses			(2,025	)			-
Non-interest income			10,746				11,648
Non-interest expense (1)			(55,231	)			(60,228	)
Income before provision for income taxes			8,045				20,163
Income tax expense			335				(2,235	)
Net income		$	8,380			$	17,928

Earnings per common share:
Basic		$	1.96			$	4.29
Diluted		$	1.96			$	4.28

(1)	Excludes $2.9 million in pre-tax merger expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Bancorp recorded $2.9 million in pre-tax one-time merger expenses related to the RYFL acquisition, and these expenses have been allocated to the following non-interest expense line items within the income statement:

(in thousands)		Twelve months ended
Noninterest expense:		December 31, 2022
Compensation and benefits		$	132
Data processing			1,929
Marketing			135
Other			656

Period merger expense		$	2,852