Company: FGBI
Filing Date: 2025-03-17
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001408534-25-000015
Chunk: 39

Company: First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-17
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 39
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 material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

-22-

The PPP has also attracted interest from federal and state enforcement authorities, oversight agencies, regulators, and U.S. Congressional committees. State Attorneys General and other federal and state agencies may assert that they are not subject to the provisions of the CARES Act and the PPP regulations entitling us to rely on borrower certifications, and take more aggressive action against us for alleged violations of the provisions governing the PPP. Federal and state regulators can impose or request that we consent to substantial sanctions, restrictions and requirements if they determine there are violations of laws, rules or regulations or weaknesses or failures with respect to general standards of safety and soundness, which could adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operation and financial condition, and thereby adversely affect your investment.

We also have credit risk on PPP loans if the SBA determines that there is a deficiency in the manner in which we originated, funded or serviced loans, including any issue with the eligibility of a borrower to receive a PPP loan. In the event of a loss resulting from a default on a PPP loan and a determination by the SBA that there was a deficiency in the manner in which we originated, funded or serviced a PPP loan, the SBA may deny its liability under the guaranty, reduce the amount of the guaranty or, if the SBA has already paid under the guaranty, seek recovery of any loss related to the deficiency from us.

We were also a participating lender in the Federal Reserve’s MSLP. The Federal Reserve established the MSLP to support lending to small and midsized for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was terminated on January 8, 2021. We were able to transfer/sell 95% of the originated principal loan balances to a special purpose vehicle created by the Federal Reserve; however, we retained 5% of the originated principal balance, including the associated credit risk on such amounts. In addition, we are subject to potential litigation risk with respect to the entire loans, including the transferred/sold portions of the loan balances.

The foreclosure process may adversely impact our recoveries on non-performing loans. 

The judicial foreclosure process is protracted, which delays our ability to resolve non-performing loans through the sale of the underlying collateral. The longer timelines were the result of the economic crisis, additional consumer protection initiatives related to the foreclosure process, increased documentary requirements