Ameriserv Financial, Inc. 2020 Annual Report Contents Our Mission
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“The Essential Resilience of our community bank business model was evident in 2020. Despite a year of crisis, it empowered our people to maintain vital services as health-related restrictions tightened, relaxed and tightened again. And it enabled us to deliver a consistently excellent customer experience.” AmeriServ Financial, Inc. 2020 Annual Report Contents Our Mission Financial Highlights 1 AmeriServ Financial is committed to A Message to increasing shareholder value by striving Our Shareholders 2 for consistently improving financial Technology 4 Commercial Banking 6 performance; providing our customers Wealth Management 8 with products and exceptional Retail Banking 10 service for every step in their lifetime Retail Lending 12 financial journey; cultivating an Community 14 Branch Locations 16 employee atmosphere rooted in trust, empowerment and growth; and serving our communities through employee involvement and a philanthropic spirit. Financial Highlights Per Share $ in thousands except per share amounts 2020 2019 Change Change Earnings Per Share (in dollars) Net Income 0.27 0.35 (0.08) (22.9%) BookValueatDecember31 6.12 5.78 0.34 5.9% 0.43 TangibleBookValueatDecember31 5.42 5.08 0.34 6.7% 0.35 Dividends Paid 0.100 0.095 0.005 5.3% MarketValueatDecember31 3.13 4.20 (1.07) (25.5%) 0.27 For the Year 0.18 Net Income $ 4,598 $ 6,028 $ (1,430) (23.7%) 0.12 Return on Average Assets 0.37% 0.51% (0.14) (27.5%) Return on Average Equity 4.52% 6.02% (1.50) (24.9%) ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 At Year-End Tangible Book Assets $ 1,279,713 $ 1,171,184 $ 108,529 9.3% Value Per Share (in dollars) Loans 978,345 887,574 90,771 10.2% Deposits 1,054,920 960,513 94,407 9.8% 5.42 5.08 Nonperforming Loans/Total Loans 0.34% 0.26% 0.08 30.8% 4.88 4.59 4.41 2020 Capital Returns 2020 Net Income $ 4,598 Common Stock Repurchase Program 151 Common Stock Dividend Payments 1,716 Total Capital Returned to Shareholders $ 1,867 % of Earnings Returned to Shareholders 40.6% ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 1 A Message To Our Shareholders he essential resilience of our community bank employed.Otherstaffersputinextradays,when businessmodelwasevidentin2020.Despite Covid-19issuessidelinedtheircolleagues.Forallof Tayearofcrisis,itempoweredourpeopletomaintain us,it’sbeenamarvelousexperiencetobeneeded,to vitalservicesashealth-relatedrestrictionstightened, beaskedforadvice,tobeabletohelp.Facemasks relaxedandtightenedagain.Anditenabledusto andplasticshieldshaveseparatedus,butthesenseof deliveraconsistentlyexcellentcustomerexperience. communityisstrongerthanever. Social-distancing constraints accelerated customer This Annual Report pays tribute to the resilience demandforseamlessvirtualbanking,asasharp thatflourishedinourbranchteams,whoadapted increaseinAmeriServwebsitetrafficdemonstrated. tounfamiliar,contact-freesettings;inourITgroup, FromMarchtoMayalone,visitstoameriserv.comrose who almost overnight equipped a brand-new remote byover34percent.Moreonline-bankingcustomers workforceforexceptionalproductivity;inevery logged in and opened accounts than we had seen in the memberofourRetailBanking,CommercialBanking, previousthree years. WealthManagement,RetailLending,andoperations andsupportteams;andinourcustomersandthe An Extraordinary Year for Loans communitiestheycallhome. WhentheFederalReserveplungedinterestratesto You’llfindthedetailsinthefollowingpages.But,first virtuallyzero,consumersfloodedAmeriServwith let’ssetthescene. requestsforhomemortgagerefinancing.Theirgoalwas Tobegin,therewasnowaytoanticipatethesudden nottoincreasetheirspendingmoney,buttoreduce andcompletelockdownofthenation’seconomy.At theirhousingcosts—andtosavethedifference.It first,weweretoldthatitwouldbeashort-termevent. was another example of common-sense protection of Yeteconomicuncertaintydominatedthefirsthalf familyandhome.Itenabledustoreachanewrecordof oftheyear,asbusinessesnationwidehitthebrakes $142millioninmortgageproduction. oncapitalinvestmentandcommercialborrowing.At DrivingAmeriServ’sgrowth,closertohome,were AmeriServ,however,carefulstewardshipsustained our continually expanding relationships with lending usuntilbusinessactivityshowedsignsofrecovery. partners like the Pennsylvania State Education Intheend,weexperiencedrecordlevelsofloans Association(PSEA),forwhomwe’vemanagedwellover and deposits. $250millioninmembershiploanssince2013.In2020, Adjusting, Resiliently thoseloanstotaled$75million. Duringthesummerlockdown,attheurgingofthe Earlyon,thegovernmentmovedtocreatestimulus FederalReserve,wehadinitiateddeferralagreements programsdesignedtoprotectfinancialmarkets. with loan customers handicapped by government Somebusinessesincreasedtheirborrowings;others restrictions.But,bySeptember,enoughbusinesses decreasedtheirborrowings.Theconsumeronthe were functioning that conventional loan growth began streetadaptedtolockeddoorsatbankbranches, anew.Thus,byDecember31,AmeriServ’soutstanding whiledigitalbankingemergedasthefail-safe,showing loanshadgrownin2020byalmost$91million,or bankers and customers alike a way to carry on during 10 percent. thepandemic.Inallofthoseadjustmentstheinborn common sense of everyday Americans came to OurparticipationintheCARESActPaycheck the fore. Protection Program (PPP) also helped redeem a difficultyear.The480PPPloansthatweprovided TakethepeopleofAmeriServ.They’vealwaysbeen helpedstrugglingbusinessesstayopen,preserving good bankers and good neighbors—but never more jobsformorethan11,000employeeswhosemuch- sothanin2020.Manymembersofourlendingstaff needed paychecks permitted them to meet their workednightsandweekends,channelingfundsto mortgage payments. smallbusinesses,sotheycouldkeeptheirworkforces 2 Tosustainothercriticalrelationships,weengaged Milestones Undeterred by the Pandemic proactively with borrowers who needed payment Lastyear,welaidthegroundworkfortheacquisitionof deferralsorrelieftogetthroughchallengingtimes. RiverviewBank’sCitizensNeighborhoodBank(CNB). Attheendof2020,fourteenofourcommercial Now this addition to our core markets has brought borrowers still had been unable to resume their us two former Somerset County CNB branches with loan-paymentschedules.Becausewebelievethe depositstotalingabout$48million.Wehaveacquireda pandemic,whichwasnotoftheirmaking,soonwillbe branchlocationinMeyersdale,alongwiththedeposits fullycontrolled,wecontinuetoworkwiththem—and from both the Meyersdale and the Somerset Riverview their$50millioninloans.Wehavetakenthenecessary offices.DepositsfromtheRiverviewSomersetofficewill steps by building on our allowance for loan losses so there transfertotheneighboringfull-serviceAmeriServoffice willbenoquestionaboutthesurvivalofthisfranchise. at108WestMainStreet.TheconversionfromRiverview A Surprising Rise in Deposits toAmeriServisplannedforMayofthisyear. Finally,in2020wewitnessedturningpointsinthe Meanwhile,economiststhoughtthatstimulusfunding careersoftwoesteemedcolleagues: wouldmaintainconsumerandcommercialspending.But Americanssaidno.Somefocusedondebtreduction,while Heartfeltthanks,fromallofus,toBobWise,asteadying othersbracedfornewriskstheyonlypartiallyunderstood. influenceontheAmeriservBoardofDirectorssince Inanycase,wewatcheddepositlevelsrise.Customers 1986.BobannouncedhisretirementfromtheBoardin werebecomingmoreliquid,andsowasAmeriServ.During Aprilof2020. 2020,totaldepositsfrombusinessesandconsumersat AndasincerewelcometoDanOnorato,whoinMay,2020, AmeriServgrewbyalmost$95million,or11percent—and wasappointedanindependentdirector.Arespected thisgrowthhascontinuedintoearly2021. businessleaderinourregion,Danwilladdimmeasurable Forthefirsttimeinourcompany’shistory,totaldeposits valuetotheBoardandtoAmeriServoverall. surpassed$1billion. The pandemic transformed both life and business during one of the banking sector’s toughest years since the Adaptable Investment Strategies financialcrisisof2008.But,asyouwillseeinthisreport, Thevalueofdiversificationwasclearin2020,as31 we’ve maintained a strong balance sheet while managing percent of our total revenue came from non-interest ourbusinessesconservatively.Thankyouonceagainfor income sources—including record contributions from theconfidenceyou’veexpressedbyyourownershipof our wealth management business and residential AmeriServshares,andforthepersonalresilienceyou’ve mortgageoperation. exhibitedinstayingthecourse. As a portion of the stimulus money found its way to Wall Latelywe’vebeenremindedthatoursis,indeed,an Street,ourWealthManagementprofessionalsadjusted “essentialbusiness.”That’sanhonorthatwillremain theirpracticestobenefitourclients.Thelockdownhad top-of-mind as we foster the best interests of our punishedthemarket,butourinvestmentmanagers shareholders,customers,staffandcommunities.Inthe began to seek out the market segments that were meantime,here’stoapromptreturntoeverydaylife, recovering.Netresult:During2020,ourclients’holdings andaprosperous2021. increasedby$243million,or11percent.Thisgrowth raised the market value of the total assets we managed oradministeredtoarecordhighof$2.481billion Allan R. Dennison by December 31. Chairman Jeffrey A. Stopko President & CEO 3 Technology Acquiring the Right Tools Leading the list of challenges was a national hardwareshortage.Wewerecompetingwith SUDDENLY REMOTE; thousandsofbusinessesforlaptopsfittohandle SEAMLESSLY thedata,appsandcloudsourpeopletypically accessedfromAmeriServdesks.Resourcefully, PRODUCTIVE IT tracked down a cache of suitable machines atalocked-downuniversityinourcommunity. Sixty brand-new computers quickly followed as Inmid-March,whentheWhite retailchannelsopenedup. House declared a national Furthermission-criticalupgradesincluded emergency,AmeriServdidn’t