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$ in thousands, except per share data
Item 1. Business
History and Business
National Bankshares, Inc. (the “Company” or “NBI”) is a financial holding company that was organized in 1986 under the laws of Virginia and is registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. It conducts most of its operations through its wholly-owned community bank subsidiary, the National Bank of Blacksburg (“NBB”). It also owns National Bankshares Financial Services, Inc. (“NBFS”), which does business as National Bankshares Insurance Services and National Bankshares Investment Services.
The National Bank of Blacksburg
The National Bank of Blacksburg, which does business as National Bank, was originally chartered in 1891 as the Bank of Blacksburg. Its state charter was converted to a national charter in 1922 and it became the National Bank of Blacksburg. In 2004, NBB purchased Community National Bank of Pulaski, Virginia. In May, 2006, Bank of Tazewell County, a Virginia bank which since 1996 had also been a wholly-owned subsidiary of NBI, was merged with and into NBB.
NBB is community-oriented, and it offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, non-profits and local governments from its headquarters in Blacksburg, Virginia and its twenty-four branch offices throughout southwest Virginia. NBB has telephone and internet banking and it operates twenty-five automated teller machines in its service area. Lending is focused at small and mid-sized businesses and at individuals. Loan types include commercial, agricultural, real estate, home equity and consumer. Merchant credit card services and business and consumer debit and credit cards are available. Deposit accounts offered include demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit. NBB offers other miscellaneous services normally provided by commercial banks, such as letters of credit, night depository, safe deposit boxes, travelers checks, utility payment services and automatic funds transfer. NBB conducts a general trust business that has wealth management, and trust and estate services for individual and business customers.
At December 31, 2011, NBB had total assets of $1,063,754 and total deposits of $919,443. NBB’s net income for 2011 was $17,946, which produced a return on average assets of 1.75% and a return on average equity of 13.39%. Refer to Note 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for NBB’s risk-based capital ratios.
In 2001, National Bankshares Financial Services, Inc. was formed in Virginia as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NBI. NBFS offers non-deposit investment products and insurance products for sale to the public. NBFS works cooperatively with Infinex Investments, Inc. to provide investments and with Bankers Insurance, LLC for insurance products. NBFS does not significantly contribute to NBI’s net income.
Operating Revenue
The percentage of total operating revenue attributable to each class of similar service that contributed 15% or more of the Company’s total operating revenue for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 is set out in the following table.
Period
Class of Service
Percentage of
Total Revenues
December 31, 2011
Interest and Fees on Loans
62.57
%
Interest on Investments
22.75
December 31, 2010
64.22
21.03
December 31, 2009
63.38
21.62
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Market Area
The Company’s market area in southwest Virginia is made up of the counties of Montgomery, Giles, Pulaski, Tazewell, Wythe, Smyth and Washington. It includes the independent cities of Radford and Galax, and the portions of Carroll and Grayson Counties that are adjacent to Galax. The Company also serves those portions of Mercer County and McDowell County, West Virginia that are contiguous with Tazewell County, Virginia. Although largely rural, the market area is home to two major universities, Virginia Tech and Radford University, and to three community colleges. Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, is the area’s largest employer and is the Commonwealth’s second largest university. A second state supported university, Radford University, is located nearby. State support for public colleges and universities, like Virginia Tech and Radford University, has been adversely affected by the recession and State budget considerations. As a result, the normally stable base of university employment is likely to be reduced. In recent years, Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center has brought a number of technology related companies to Montgomery County. However, the recession has slowed the growth of new jobs in the Center.
In addition to education, the market area has a diverse economic base, with manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, retail and service industries all represented. Large manufacturing facilities in the region include Celanese Acetate, the largest employer in Giles County, and Volvo Heavy Trucks, the largest company in Pulaski County. Both of these firms have experienced layoffs within the past several years. During the past year, Volvo Heavy Trucks has begun to slowly re-hire some employees whose jobs were cut in the previous year in response to a rapid decline in the demand for trucks because of the economic downturn. Pulaski and Galax have in the past been centers for furniture manufacturing. However, this industry has been declining because of growing furniture imports and the loss of demand. Several furniture companies have gone out of business in the recent past. Tazewell County is largely dependent on the coal mining industry and on agriculture for its economic base. Coal production is a cyclical industry that was negatively affected by the economic decline. Montgomery County, Bluefield in Tazewell County and Abingdon in Washington County are regional retail centers and have facilities to provide basic health care for the region.
NBI’s market area offers the advantages of a good quality of life, scenic beauty, moderate climate and historical and cultural attractions. The region has some recent success attracting retirees, particularly from the Northeast and urban northern Virginia.
Because NBI’s market area is economically diverse and includes large public employers, it has historically avoided the most extreme effects of past economic downturns. However, because the current national and state economic problems have been severe and prolonged, most the Company’s market area is experiencing higher levels of unemployment and very slow economic growth. For the Company, the result is a higher number of loan defaults than its historical average and a lower loan demand.
Competition
The banking and financial services industry in NBI’s market area is highly competitive. The competitive business environment is a result of changes in regulation, changes in technology and product delivery systems and competition from other financial institutions as well as non-traditional financial services. NBB competes for loans and deposits with other commercial banks, credit unions, securities and brokerage companies, mortgage companies, insurance companies, retailers, automobile companies and other nonbank financial service providers. Many of these competitors are much larger in total assets and capitalization, have greater access to capital markets and offer a broader array of financial services than NBB. In order to compete, NBB relies upon a deep knowledge of its markets, a service-based business philosophy, personal relationships with customers, specialized services tailored to meet customers’ needs and the convenience of office locations. In addition, the bank is generally competitive with other financial institutions in its market area with respect to interest rates paid on deposit accounts, interest rates charged on loans and other service charges on loans and deposit accounts.
Organization and Employment
NBI, NBB and NBFS are organized in a holding company/subsidiary structure. Functions that serve both subsidiaries, including audit, compliance, loan review and human resources, are at the holding company level, and fees are charged to the respective subsidiary for those services.
At December 31, 2011, NBI employed 18 full time employees, NBB had 194 full time equivalent employees and NBFS had 3 full time employees.
Regulation, Supervision and Government Policy
NBI and NBB are subject to state and federal banking laws and regulations that provide for general regulatory oversight of all aspects of their operations. As a result of substantial regulatory burdens on banking, financial institutions like NBI and NBB are at a disadvantage to other competitors who are not as highly regulated, and NBI and NBB’s costs of doing business are accordingly higher. Legislative efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis culminated in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010. This legislation, together with existing and planned implementing regulations, has dramatically increased the regulatory burden on commercial banks. The burden falls disproportionately on community banks like NBB, which must devote a higher proportion of their human and other resources to compliance than do their larger competitors. The financial crisis has also heightened the examination focus by banking regulators, particularly on real estate related assets and commercial loans. In the current environment, the potential for additional laws and regulations that will impact the Company, as well as heightened examination standards with regard to asset quality, cannot be ruled out. The following is a brief summary of certain laws, rules and regulations that affect NBI and NBB.
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NBI is a bank holding company qualified as a financial holding company under the Federal Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA), which is administered by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). NBI is required to file an annual report with the Federal Reserve and may be required to furnish additional information pursuant to the BHCA. The Federal Reserve is authorized to examine NBI and its subsidiaries. With some limited exceptions, the BHCA requires a bank holding company to obtain prior approval from the Federal Reserve before acquiring or merging with a bank or before acquiring more than 5% of the voting shares of a bank unless it already controls a majority of shares.
The Bank Holding Company Act. Under the BHCA, a bank holding company is generally prohibited from engaging in nonbanking activities unless the Federal Reserve has found those activities to be incidental to banking. Bank holding companies also may not acquire more than 5% of the voting shares of any company engaged in nonbanking activities. Amendments to the BHCA that were included in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (see below) permitted any bank holding company with bank subsidiaries that are well-capitalized, well-managed and which have a satisfactory or better rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (see below) to file an election with the Federal Reserve to become a financial holding company. A financial holding company may engage in any activity that is (i) financial in nature (ii) incidental to a financial activity or (iii) complementary to a financial activity. Financial activities include insurance underwriting, securities dealing and underwriting and providing financial, investment or economic advising services. NBI is a financial holding company.