Company: BWFG
Filing Date: 2025-03-05
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001505732-25-000052
Chunk: 10

Company: Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-05
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 10
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 estate loans, commercial real estate investment loans, commercial loans (such as business term loans, equipment financing and lines of credit) to small and medium-sized businesses and real estate construction and development loans. We focus our lending activities on loans that we originate to borrowers located in our market or with whom the Bank’s senior management has long-standing relationships. We have established an internal lending guideline to one relationship of up to 30% of equity capital and allowance for credit losses, if secured by commercial real estate. A relationship in this instance is defined as loans made to different entities but with a shared borrower principal(s). For individual loans and loans dependent on the operation of a business, limits are set so as not to exceed the statutory maximum of 15% of equity capital and allowance for credit losses. 

We market our lending products and services to qualified borrowers through conveniently located banking offices, relationship networks and high touch personal service. Our business development and marketing strategy is primarily focused on small to medium-sized businesses. Our relationship managers actively solicit business from companies entering our market areas as well as established businesses operating within the communities we serve. We attract new lending clients through professional service, relationship networks, competitive pricing and innovative structure, including the utilization of federal and state tax incentives and lending programs such as the SBA loan programs. Our efficient approval structure and local decision-making allow us to provide smart, proficient underwriting and timely decisions on new loan requests. This agility provides a competitive advantage over larger institutions.

4

Total loans before deferred loan fees and the ACL-Loans were $2.7 billion at December 31, 2024. The following tables summarize the composition of our loan portfolio for the dates indicated.

At December 31,20242023202220212020(In thousands)Real estate loans:Residential$42,766 $50,931 $60,588 $79,987 $113,557 Commercial1,899,134 1,947,648 1,921,252 1,356,709 1,148,383 Construction173,555 183,414 155,198 98,341 87,007 2,115,455 2,181,993 2,137,038 1,535,037 1,348,947 Commercial business515,125 500,569 520,447 350,975 276,601 Consumer75,308 36,045 17,963 8,869 79 Total loans$