2019 ANNUAL REPORT OFFICERS John C. Corbett President ana d Chief Executive Officer Stephen D. Young Chief Operating Officer William E. Matthews, V Chiei f Financial Officer Richard MuM rray, IV Chief Executive Officer, CennterState Bank N.A. Mark W. Thompson President, CenterState Bank N.A. Jennifer L. Idell Chief Administrative Officer Daniel E. Bockhorst Chief Credit Officer Beth S. DeSimone Chief Risk Officer CORPORATE OFFICE 1101 Firsts Street. South Winter Havenn, FL 33880 863.293.47100 CORPORATE WEBSITE CenterStateBanks.com STOCK LISTING Symbol - CSFL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES Continental StS ock Transfer & Trust Company 17 Batteryy Place, NY, NY 10004 212.5009.9 404 00 INDEPENDENT AUDITORS Crowe LLP Fort Lauderdale, Florida 2020 ANNUAL MEETING April 23, 2020 10 am 7593 Gathering Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34747 CORPORATE PROFILE CenterState Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: CSFL) operates as one of the largest community bank franchises headquartered in the state of Florida. Both the Company and its nationally chartered bank subsidiary, CenterState Bank, N.A. (“the Bank”), are based in Winter Haven, Florida between Orlando and Tampa. With over $17 billion assets, the Bank provides traditional retail, commercial, mortgage, wealth management and SBA services throughout its Florida, Georgia and Alabama branch network. The Bank also has a national footprint, serving clients coast to coast, through its correspondent banking division. Ernie Pinner, Chairman and John Corbett, President and CEO Dear Fellow Shareholders, CenterState earned $225 million in 2019, or $1.87 in diluted earnings per share, ($2.13 on an adjusted basis, excluding merger-related expenses and non-recurring items). CenterState remains a top quartile performer compared to peers, with return on average assets equal to 1.42% (1.61% adjusted) and return on average tangible common equity equal to 16.2% (18.4% adjusted). We achieved net interest income of $586 million, despite the challenging interest rate environment, and our noninterest income business lines had an excellent year, with revenue of $166 million. 2019 was a strategically important year for CenterState, We recognize our job as capital managers includes a with solid operational performance and a successful focus on capital strength, returns on capital, returns of merger with National Commerce Corporation. I want to capital, and growth in tangible book value per share. highlight our 2019 accomplishments, and also spend Tangible book value per share grew by 11% in 2019, a some time talking about the future, including the year in which we also repurchased 4.6% of the challenges we face as an industry, and how your company’s outstanding shares, and we ended the year management team is reacting to those challenges. with a strong 10.1% tangible common equity ratio. We 2 also announced a 27% increase in our quarterly credit quality, density in markets with growing dividend to $0.14 per share in January 2020. populations, and similar values and strategic thinking. South State’s “value pyramid,” which has as its base Credit quality is a strategic priority for us, and our credit Soundness, then Profitability, and Growth, is an metrics continue to be strong. Ending NPA’s were excellent reflection of the way we prioritize our job as 0.26% of assets and net charge-offs were 0.09% of managers of our owners’ capital. Our experience tells average non-purchased credit impaired loans. We us that companies who prioritize growth over achieved record loan production of $3.3 billion, while profitability and profitability over soundness operate maintaining our credit standards. During the year, we with an unsustainable business model. We do not plan began tracking missed loan opportunities of $1 million to invert the pyramid. or greater. Interestingly, we had over $2.2 billion in loan requests that we declined based on factors such as In addition to the cultural underwriting structure, loan to value ratio, debt service fit, there are several coverage, and other credit components. While these reasons for us entering into likely are not “bad” loans, we are cognizant of the this strategic partnership. economic cycle and are unwilling to stretch on credit to The banking industry faces several challenges, but achieve growth, particularly this late in the recovery there are two particular external challenges that are cycle. We believe this to be a prudent posture as present today, neither of which is unique to managers of your capital. CenterState. The first external challenge is the interest rate environment. A period of low interest rates, and In addition to our earnings performance, we completed particularly one with very little differential between our merger with National Commerce Corporation on short term and long term rates (a “flat yield curve”) April 1. This merger brought us additional market creates a more challenging revenue environment for density in central Florida along the I-4 corridor as well as banks, as it is more difficult to earn the kind of spreads in northeast Florida and in Atlanta. It also brought us a we strive for (4%+) in an environment where 10 year US great group of teammates in Birmingham to help Treasury bonds earn less than 1.5%. manage our company as we grow in the future. The second external challenge is the digital revolution On January 27, 2020, we entered into a “merger of occurring across industries including banking. equals” with South State Corporation – a company of Customers are increasingly interested in interacting via similar size, market capitalization, and culture based in convenient technological solutions such as phone apps, Columbia, South Carolina. We are thrilled to partner rather than coming into a branch. While we believe our with Robert Hill and his great team at South State, and focus on long term relationships rather than we believe South State is equally thrilled to partner transactions provides us with a superior customer with CenterState. service offering, we have to continue to adapt to customers’ changing preferences and provide them Common attributes of South State and CenterState with digital tools to allow them to conveniently access include strong core deposit funding bases, strong our offerings. We also need to use data to anticipate our 3 customers’ needs and provide solutions more promptly. about Ernie Pinner, who recently stepped back to a These types of investments are critical and costly. non-executive Chairman role. Many of you know Ernie and the outstanding leadership he has provided this Your management team and board have studied these organization from its founding. His wisdom and external forces. We believe the revenue challenge judgment have allowed the company to grow and caused by the current interest rate environment thrive. His ethical behavior, friendly demeanor and increases the need to become more efficient, and humble nature have allowed us to attract superior eliminating duplicate costs through a strategic teammates by creating the kind of culture where partnership with a like-minded institution such as South competitive people can succeed while operating with a State helps achieve such efficiency. The need to keep sense of humility, candor, and compassion. And, for me pace with digital transformation requires additional personally, his friendship and guidance have helped investment in technological innovation, and a larger me to become a better leader. For all of those company with greater scale can better afford to make attributes, we owe Ernie our sincere gratitude. If you such investments. see Ernie, please express your thanks for all he has meant to CenterState. I am pleased that he will Finally, and importantly, I’d like to close with a note continue to serve on our board of directors. As we look forward to the remainder of 2020 and the hard work ahead of us, we are grateful for the support of our shareholders and trust we will continue to earn that support every day. Thank you. John C. Corbett President & CEO This Annual Report contains certain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in this discussion are reasonable, actual results may be materially different. Please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2019 (the “Form 10-K”) included in this Annual Report and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for a more thorough description of the types of risks and uncertainties that may affect management’s forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and the amount of loan loss provisions required in future periods; risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, including integration and implementation risks; cybersecurity risks relating to our dependence on internal computer systems and the technology of outside service providers and the potential impacts of third-party security breaches resulting from deliberate attacks or unintentional events, which could result in potential business disruptions or financial losses; regulatory change riisks resulting from new laws, rules, regulations, proscribed practices or ethical standards, or from changes in regulators’ application of existing laws, regulations and standards, and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Form 10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements above and others expressed in the Company’s securities filings. 4 Key Performance Indicators* * EPS and ROAA indicators are adjusted to exclude gain on sale of available for sale securities, gain on sale of trust departmentt, gain on sale of deposits, merger and acquisition related expense, net of tax, and the revaluation of the net deferred tax asset. Efficiency indicator is adjusted as shown above with the additional exclusion of intangible amortization on a pre-tax basis.