BANNER CORP

General: As a state-chartered, federally insured commercial bank, the Bank is subject to extensive regulation and must comply with various statutory and regulatory requirements, including prescribed minimum capital standards. The Bank is regularly examined by the FDIC and the Washington DFI and files periodic reports about its activities and financial condition with these banking regulators. The Bank’s relationship with depositors and borrowers is also regulated to a great extent by both federal and state law, especially in such matters as the ownership of deposit accounts and the form and content of mortgage and other loan documents.

Federal and state banking laws and regulations govern all areas of the operation of the Bank, including reserves, loans, investments, deposits, capital, issuance of securities, payment of dividends and establishment of branches. Federal and state bank regulatory agencies also have the general authority to limit the dividends paid by insured banks and bank holding companies if such payments should be deemed to constitute an unsafe and unsound practice and in other circumstances. The Federal Reserve and FDIC, as the respective primary federal regulators of Banner and of the Bank, have authority to impose penalties, initiate civil and administrative actions and take other steps intended to prevent banks from engaging in unsafe or unsound practices. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve System. The CFPB is responsible for the implementation of the federal financial consumer protection and fair lending laws and regulations and has authority to impose new requirements.

Any change in applicable laws, regulations, or regulatory policies may have a material effect on our business, operations, and prospects. We cannot predict the nature or the extent of the effects on our business and earnings that any fiscal or monetary policies or new federal or state legislation may have in the future.

The following is a summary discussion of certain laws and regulations applicable to Banner and the Bank, which is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual laws and regulations.

Banner Bank

State Regulation and Supervision: As a Washington state-chartered commercial bank with branches in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California, the Bank is subject not only to the applicable provisions of Washington law and regulations, but is also subject to Oregon, Idaho and California laws and regulations. These state laws and regulations govern the Bank’s ability to take deposits and pay interest thereon, to make loans on or invest in residential and other real estate, to make consumer loans, to invest in securities, to offer various banking services to its clients and to establish branch offices.

Deposit Insurance: The Deposit Insurance Fund of the FDIC insures deposit accounts of the Bank up to $250,000 per separately insured deposit relationship category. As insurer, the FDIC imposes deposit insurance premiums and is authorized to conduct examinations of, and to require reporting by, FDIC-insured institutions. No institution may pay a dividend if it is in default on its federal deposit insurance assessment. As of December 31, 2025, assessment rates ranged from five basis points to 32 basis points for all institutions, subject to adjustments for unsecured debt issued by the institution, unsecured debt issued by other FDIC-insured institutions, and brokered deposits held by the institution. The FDIC is required to update its analysis and projections for the Deposit Insurance Fund balance and reserve ratio at least semiannually and make necessary adjustments to the assessment rate schedules.

The FDIC may prohibit any insured institution from engaging in any activity determined by regulation or order to pose a serious risk to the deposit insurance fund. The FDIC may terminate the deposit insurance of any insured depository institution if it determines after a hearing that the institution has engaged or is engaging in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations, or has violated any applicable law, regulation, order or any condition imposed by an agreement with the FDIC. It also may suspend deposit insurance temporarily during the hearing process for the permanent termination of insurance if the institution has no tangible capital. If insurance of accounts is terminated, the accounts at the institution at the time of the termination, less subsequent withdrawals, shall continue to be insured for a period of six months to two years, as determined by the FDIC. Management is not aware of any existing circumstances which would result in termination of deposit insurance of the Bank.

Standards for Safety and Soundness: The federal banking regulatory agencies have prescribed, by regulation, guidelines for all insured depository institutions relating to internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems; loan documentation; credit underwriting; interest rate risk exposure; asset growth; asset quality; earnings; and compensation, fees and benefits. The guidelines set forth the safety and soundness standards that the federal banking agencies use to identify and address problems at insured depository institutions. Each insured depository institution must implement a comprehensive written information security program that includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the institution’s size and complexity and the nature and scope of its activities. The information security program must be designed to ensure the security and confidentiality of client information, protect against any unanticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such information, protect against unauthorized access to or use of such information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to any client, and ensure the proper disposal of client and consumer information. Each insured depository institution must also develop and implement a risk-based response program to address incidents of unauthorized access to client information in client information systems. If the FDIC determines that an institution fails to meet any of these guidelines, it may require an institution to submit to the FDIC an acceptable plan to achieve compliance.

Capital Requirements: Bank holding companies, such as Banner, and federally insured financial institutions, such as the Bank, are required to maintain a minimum level of regulatory capital. Banner and the Bank are subject to minimum required ratios for Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital, Tier 1 capital, total capital and the leverage ratio and a required capital conservation buffer over the required capital ratios.

Under the capital regulations, the minimum capital ratios are: (1) a CET1 capital ratio of 4.5% of risk-weighted assets; (2) a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.0% of risk-weighted assets; (3) a total risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% of risk-weighted assets; and (4) a leverage ratio (the ratio of Tier 1 capital to average total consolidated assets) of 4.0%. CET1 generally consists of common stock; retained earnings; accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) unless an institution elects to exclude AOCI from regulatory capital; and certain minority interests; all subject to applicable regulatory adjustments and deductions. Tier 1 capital generally consists of CET1 and noncumulative perpetual preferred stock. Tier 2 capital generally consists of other preferred stock and subordinated debt meeting certain conditions plus an amount of the allowance for credit losses up to 1.25% of assets. Total capital is the sum of Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital.

Trust preferred securities issued by a bank holding company, such as the Company, with total consolidated assets of less than $15 billion before May 19, 2010, and treated as regulatory capital are grandfathered, but any such securities issued later are not eligible to be treated as regulatory capital. For institutions that grow above $15 billion as a result of an acquisition, the trust preferred securities are excluded from Tier 1 capital and instead included in Tier 2 capital. Mortgage servicing assets and deferred tax assets over designated percentages of CET1 are deducted from capital. In addition, Tier 1 capital includes AOCI, which includes all unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale debt and equity securities. However, because of our asset size, we were eligible to elect, and did elect, to permanently opt out of the inclusion of unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale debt and equity securities in our capital calculations.

For purposes of determining risk-based capital, assets and certain off-balance sheet items are risk-weighted from 0% to 1250%, depending on the risk characteristics of the asset or item. In addition to the minimum CET1, Tier 1, leverage ratio and total capital ratios, Banner and the Bank must maintain a capital conservation buffer consisting of additional CET1 capital greater than 2.5% of risk-weighted assets above the required minimum risk-based capital levels in order to avoid limitations on paying dividends, repurchasing shares, and paying discretionary bonuses.

To be considered “well capitalized,” a bank holding company must have, on a consolidated basis, a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.0% or greater and a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6.0% or greater and must not be subject to an individual order, directive or agreement under which the FRB requires it to maintain a specific capital level. To be considered “well capitalized,” a depository institution must have a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.0%, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10.0%, a CET1 capital ratio of at least 6.5% and a leverage ratio of at least 5.0% and not be subject to an individualized order, directive or agreement under which its primary federal banking regulator requires it to maintain a specific capital level.

Prompt Corrective Action: Federal statutes establish a supervisory framework for FDIC-insured institutions based on five capital categories: well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized. An institution’s category depends upon where its capital levels are in relation to relevant capital measures. The well-capitalized category is described above. An institution that is not well capitalized is subject to certain restrictions on brokered deposits, including restrictions on the rates it can offer on its deposits generally. To be considered adequately capitalized, an institution must have the minimum capital ratios described above. Any institution which is neither well capitalized nor adequately capitalized is considered undercapitalized.

Undercapitalized institutions are subject to certain prompt corrective action requirements, regulatory controls and restrictions which become more extensive as an institution becomes more severely undercapitalized. Failure by the Bank to comply with applicable capital requirements would, if unremedied, result in progressively more severe restrictions on its activities and lead to enforcement actions, including, but not limited to, the issuance of a capital directive to ensure the maintenance of required capital levels and, ultimately, the appointment of the FDIC as receiver or conservator. Banking regulators will take prompt corrective action with respect to depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. Additionally, approval of any regulatory application filed for their review may be dependent on compliance with capital requirements. As of December 31, 2025, Banner and the Bank met the requirements to be “well capitalized” and the capital conservation buffer requirements.

Commercial Real Estate Lending Concentrations: The federal banking agencies have issued guidance on sound risk management practices for concentrations in commercial real estate lending. The particular focus is on exposure to commercial real estate loans that are dependent on the cash flow from the real estate held as collateral and that are likely to be sensitive to conditions in the commercial real estate market (as opposed to real estate collateral held as a secondary source of repayment or as an abundance of caution). The purpose of the guidance is not to limit a bank’s commercial real estate lending but to guide banks in developing risk management practices and capital levels commensurate with the level and nature of real estate concentrations. The guidance directs the FDIC and other bank regulatory agencies to focus their supervisory resources on institutions that may have significant commercial real estate loan concentration risk. A bank that has experienced rapid growth in commercial real estate lending, has notable exposure to a specific type of commercial real estate loan, or is approaching or exceeding the following supervisory criteria may be identified for further supervisory analysis with respect to real estate concentration risk:

•Total reported loans for construction, land development and other land represent 100% or more of the bank’s total regulatory capital; or

•Total commercial real estate loans (as defined in the guidance) represent 300% or more of the bank’s total regulatory capital and the outstanding balance of the bank’s commercial real estate loan portfolio has increased 50% or more during the prior 36 months.

The guidance provides that the strength of an institution’s lending and risk management practices with respect to such concentrations will be taken into account in supervisory guidance on evaluation of capital adequacy. As of December 31, 2025, the Bank’s aggregate recorded loan balances for construction, land and land development loans were 88% of total regulatory capital. In addition, at December 31, 2025, the Bank’s loans secured by commercial real estate represent 258% of total regulatory capital.

Activities and Investments of Insured State-Chartered Financial Institutions: Federal law generally limits the activities and equity investments of FDIC insured, state-chartered banks to those that are permissible for national banks. An insured state bank is not prohibited from, among other things: (1) acquiring or retaining a majority interest in a subsidiary; (2) investing as a limited partner in a partnership the sole purpose of which is direct or indirect investment in the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of a qualified housing project, provided that such limited partnership investments may not exceed 2% of the bank’s total assets; (3) acquiring up to 10% of the voting stock of a company that solely provides or re-insures directors’, trustees’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage or bankers’ blanket bond group insurance coverage for insured depository institutions; and (4) acquiring or retaining the voting shares of a depository institution if certain requirements are met.

Washington State has enacted laws regarding financial institution parity. These laws afford Washington-chartered commercial banks the same powers as Washington-chartered savings banks and provide that Washington-chartered commercial banks may exercise any of the powers that the Federal Reserve has determined to be closely related to the business of banking and the powers of national banks, subject to the approval of the Director in certain situations. Finally, the law provides additional flexibility for Washington-chartered banks with respect to interest rates on loans and other extensions of credit. Specifically, they may charge the maximum interest rate allowable for loans and other extensions of credit by federally chartered financial institutions.

Environmental Issues Associated with Real Estate Lending: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) is a federal statute that generally imposes strict liability on all prior and present “owners and operators” of sites containing hazardous waste. However, Congress acted to protect secured creditors by providing that the term “owner and operator” excludes a person whose ownership is limited to protecting its security interest in the site. Since the enactment of the CERCLA, this “secured creditor exemption” has been the subject of judicial interpretations which have left open the possibility that lenders could be liable for cleanup costs on contaminated property that they hold as collateral for a loan. To the extent that legal uncertainty exists in this area, all creditors, including the Bank, that have made loans secured by properties with potentially hazardous waste contamination (such as petroleum contamination) could be subject to liability for cleanup costs, which often substantially exceed the value of the collateral property.

Federal Reserve System: The Federal Reserve has the authority to establish reserve requirements on transaction accounts or non-personal time deposits. These reserves may be in the form of cash or non-interest-bearing deposits with the regional Federal Reserve Bank. Interest-bearing checking accounts and other types of accounts that permit payments or transfers to third parties fall within the definition of transaction accounts and are subject to Regulation D reserve requirements, as are any non-personal time deposits at a bank. In March 2020, the Federal Reserve reduced requirements to zero percent to support lending to households and businesses. Currently, the Federal Reserve has stated it has no plans to re-impose reserve requirements. However, the Federal Reserve may adjust reserve requirement ratios in the future if conditions warrant.

Affiliate Transactions: Banner and the Bank are separate and distinct legal entities. Banner (and any non-bank subsidiary of Banner) is an affiliate of the Bank. Federal laws strictly limit the ability of banks to engage in certain transactions with their affiliates. Transactions deemed to be a “covered transaction” under Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act between a bank and an affiliate are limited to 10% of the bank’s capital and surplus and, with respect to all affiliates, to an aggregate of 20% of the bank’s capital and surplus. Further, covered transactions that are loans and extensions of credit generally are required to be secured by eligible collateral in specified amounts. Federal law also requires that covered transactions and certain other transactions listed in Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act between a bank and its affiliates be on terms as favorable to the bank as transactions with non-affiliates.

Community Reinvestment Act: The Bank is subject to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA), which requires that federal banking regulatory agencies assess a bank’s performance in meeting the credit needs of its community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The regulatory agency’s assessment of the bank’s record is made available to the public and is considered when a bank applies to establish a new branch, relocate an existing office, or merge or acquire another federally regulated financial institution. The Bank received an “outstanding” rating in its most recent CRA examination.

On October 24, 2023, federal banking agencies, including the FDIC, issued a final rule to strengthen and modernize CRA regulations. The final rule was published with an April 1, 2024, effective date and staggered compliance dates; however, implementation of the 2023 final rule was stayed by a preliminary injunction. In 2025, the federal banking agencies issued a Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to rescind the 2023 final rule and reinstate the prior CRA regulations. As a result, the Bank will continue to be evaluated under the pre-2023 CRA regulatory framework.

Dividends: The amount of dividends payable by the Bank to the Company depends upon its earnings and capital position, and is limited by federal and state laws, regulations and policies, including the capital conservation buffer requirement. Federal law further provides that no insured depository institution may make any capital distribution (which includes a cash dividend) if, after making the distribution, the institution would be “undercapitalized,” as defined in the prompt corrective action regulations. Moreover, the federal bank regulatory agencies also have the general authority to limit the dividends paid by insured banks if such payments should be deemed to constitute an unsafe and unsound practice. In addition, under Washington law, no bank may declare or pay any dividend in an amount greater than its retained earnings without the prior approval of the Washington DFI. The Washington DFI also has the power to require any bank to suspend the payment of any and all dividends.

Privacy Standards and Cybersecurity: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA) established a framework allowing affiliations among commercial banks, insurance companies, securities firms, and other financial service providers. Federal banking agencies, including the FDIC, have implemented guidelines mandating that financial institutions develop, implement, and maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect client information. These guidelines emphasize risk management, particularly concerning information technology and third-party service providers. Additionally, the GLBA requires financial institutions to disclose their privacy policies to consumers, detailing information-sharing practices and providing options to opt out of certain disclosures.

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), effective January 1, 2020, grants California residents rights regarding their personal information, including the rights to know, delete, and opt out of the sale of their data. The CCPA also introduces a private right of action for data breaches, potentially increasing liability for affected businesses. While the CCPA exempts personal information collected under the GLBA, this exemption does not extend to the private right of action for data breaches. In November 2020, California voters approved the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which amended the CCPA by enhancing consumer privacy rights and establishing the California Privacy Protection Agency for enforcement. Compliance with the CCPA, CPRA, and similar state laws may necessitate the implementation of specific regulatory compliance and risk management controls. Non-compliance could result in substantial fines, penalties, legal actions, and reputational harm.

In 2022, federal banking agencies adopted a rule introducing new notification requirements for banking organizations and their service providers concerning significant cybersecurity incidents. Banks must notify their primary federal regulator as soon as possible, and no later than 36 hours after identifying a computer-security incident that materially affects, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the bank’s operations, its ability to deliver services, or the stability of the financial sector. Service providers are required to inform affected banks promptly if they experience an incident that has materially disrupted, or is likely to disrupt, services for four or more hours.

Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Secrecy and Client Identification: The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) was signed into law on October 26, 2001. The USA PATRIOT and Bank Secrecy Acts require financial institutions to develop programs to prevent financial institutions from being used for money laundering and terrorist activities. If such activities are detected, financial institutions are obligated to file suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Financial institutions must establish procedures to identify and verify the identity of clients seeking to open new financial accounts, and the beneficial owners of accounts. Bank regulators are directed to consider an institution’s effectiveness in combating money laundering when ruling on Bank Holding Company Act and Bank Merger Act applications. The Bank’s policies and procedures are designed to comply with the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Other Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations: The CFPB is empowered to exercise broad regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority with respect to both new and existing consumer financial protection laws. The Bank and its affiliates and subsidiaries are subject to CFPB supervisory and enforcement authority. In early 2025, CFPB leadership significantly scaled back the agency’s rulemaking, enforcement and supervisory activities, including pausing major enforcement actions, rescinding guidance, and narrowing priorities which has significantly reduced active oversight of financial institutions. Although statutory consumer protection requirements remain in force, the agency’s diminished operations have created regulatory uncertainty with respect to the supervision and enforcement of the existing consumer financial protection laws.

The Bank is subject to a broad array of federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations that govern almost every aspect of its business relationships with consumers. While the list set forth below is not exhaustive, these include the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfers Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, flood insurance laws, consumer protection laws connected with the sale of insurance, federal and state laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive business practices, and various regulations that implement some or all of these areas. These laws and regulations mandate certain disclosure requirements and regulate how financial institutions must deal with clients when taking deposits, making loans, collecting loans, and providing other services. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can subject the Bank to various penalties, including but not limited to, enforcement actions, injunctions, fines, civil liability, criminal penalties, punitive damages, and the loss of certain contractual rights.

Banner Corporation

General: Banner, as sole shareholder of the Bank, is a bank holding company registered with the Federal Reserve. Bank holding companies are subject to comprehensive regulation by the Federal Reserve under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, or the BHCA, and the regulations of the Federal Reserve. Banner is required to file quarterly reports with the Federal Reserve and provide additional information as the Federal Reserve may require. The Federal Reserve may examine Banner, and any of its subsidiaries. The Federal Reserve also has extensive enforcement authority over bank holding companies, including, among other things, the ability to assess civil money penalties, to issue cease and desist or removal orders and to require that a holding company divest subsidiaries (including its bank subsidiaries). In general, enforcement actions may be initiated for violations of law and regulations and unsafe or unsound practices. Banner is also required to file certain reports with, and comply with the rules and regulations of the SEC.

The Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA): Under the BHCA, Banner is supervised by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve has a policy that a bank holding company is required to serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to its subsidiary banks and may not conduct its operations in an unsafe or unsound manner. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act provides that a bank holding company must serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary banks. A bank holding company’s failure to meet its obligation to serve as a source of strength to its subsidiary banks will generally be considered by the Federal Reserve to be an unsafe and unsound banking practice or a violation of the Federal Reserve’s regulations or both. No regulations have yet been proposed by the Federal Reserve to implement the source of strength provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Banner and any subsidiaries that it may control are considered “affiliates” of the Bank within the meaning of the Federal Reserve Act, and transactions between the Bank and affiliates are subject to numerous restrictions. With some exceptions, Banner and its subsidiaries are prohibited from tying the provision of various services, such as extensions of credit, to other services offered by Banner or by its affiliates.

Acquisitions: The BHCA prohibits a bank holding company, with certain exceptions, from acquiring ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any company that is not a bank or bank holding company and from engaging in activities other than those of banking, managing or controlling banks, or providing services for its subsidiaries. Under the BHCA, the Federal Reserve may approve the ownership of shares by a bank holding company in any company, the activities of which the Federal Reserve has determined to be so closely related to the business of banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. These activities include: operating a savings institution, mortgage company, finance company, credit card company or factoring company; performing certain data processing operations; providing certain investment and financial advice; underwriting and acting as an insurance agent for certain types of credit-related insurance; leasing property on a full-payout, non-operating basis; selling money orders, travelers’ checks and U.S. Savings Bonds; real estate and personal property appraising; providing tax planning and preparation services; and, subject to certain limitations, providing securities brokerage services for clients.

Federal Securities Laws: Banner’s common stock is registered with the SEC under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We are subject to information, proxy solicitation, insider trading restrictions and other requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). In addition, the SEC has enacted rules related to the reporting of cybersecurity events that are material to the Company’s operations within a specified time frame.

The Dodd-Frank Act: The Dodd-Frank Act imposes various restrictions and an expanded framework of regulatory oversight for financial institutions, including depository institutions, and implements certain capital regulations applicable to Banner and the Bank that are discussed above under the section entitled “Capital Requirements.”

Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act requires public companies, like Banner, to (i) provide their shareholders with a non-binding vote (a) at least once every three years on the compensation paid to executive officers and (b) at least once every six years on whether they should have a “say on pay” vote every one, two or three years; (ii) have a separate, non-binding shareholder vote regarding golden parachutes for named executive officers when a shareholder vote takes place on mergers, acquisitions, dispositions or other transactions that would trigger the parachute payments; (iii) provide disclosure in annual proxy materials about the relationship between executive compensation paid and the financial performance of the issuer; and (iv) disclose the ratio of the Chief Executive Officer’s annual total compensation to the median annual total compensation of all other employees.

The regulations to implement the provisions of Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly referred to as the Volcker Rule, contain prohibitions and restrictions on the ability of financial institutions holding companies and their affiliates to engage in proprietary trading and hold certain interests in, or have certain relationships with, various types of investment funds, including hedge funds and private equity funds. Banner is continuously reviewing its investment portfolio to determine if changes in its investment strategies are in compliance with Volcker Rule regulations.

Interstate Banking and Branching: The Federal Reserve must approve a bank holding company’s application to acquire control, or acquire all or substantially all the assets, of a bank located in a state other than the holding company’s home state, without regard to whether the transaction is prohibited by the laws of any state. The Federal Reserve may not approve the acquisition of a bank that has not been in existence for the minimum time period (not exceeding five years) specified by statutory law of the host state. Nor may the Federal Reserve approve an application if the applicant (and its depository institution affiliates) controls or would control more than 10% of the insured deposits in the United States or 30% or more of the deposits in the target bank’s home state or in any state in which the target bank maintains a branch. Federal law does not affect states’ authority to limit the percentage of total insured deposits in the state which may be held or controlled by a bank holding company to the extent such limitation does not discriminate against out-of-state banks or bank holding companies. Individual states may also waive the 30% state-wide concentration limit contained in the federal law.

Federal banking agencies are generally authorized to approve interstate merger transactions without regard to whether the transaction is prohibited by the law of any state. Interstate branch acquisitions are permitted only if the law of the state in which the branch is located permits such acquisitions. Interstate mergers and branch acquisitions are subject to the nationwide and statewide insured deposit concentration amounts described above. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the federal banking agencies may generally approve interstate de novo branching.

Dividends: The Federal Reserve issued a policy statement on cash dividend payments by bank holding companies, which expresses its view that, although there are no specific regulations restricting dividend payments by bank holding companies other than state corporate laws, a bank holding company must maintain an adequate capital position and generally should not pay cash dividends unless the company’s net income for the past year is sufficient to fully fund the cash dividends and that the prospective rate of earnings appears consistent with the company’s capital needs, asset quality, and overall financial condition. The Federal Reserve policy statement also indicates that it would be inappropriate for a company experiencing serious financial problems to borrow funds to pay dividends. The capital conversion buffer requirement can also restrict Banner’s and the Bank’s ability to pay dividends. Further, under Washington law, Banner is prohibited from paying a dividend if, after making such dividend payment, it would be unable to pay its debts as they become due in the usual course of business. Banner is also prohibited from paying a dividend if its total liabilities, plus the amount that would be needed in the event Banner were to be dissolved at the time of the dividend payment exceed our total assets.

Stock Repurchases: A bank holding company, except for certain “well capitalized” and highly rated bank holding companies, is required to give the Federal Reserve prior written notice of any purchase or redemption of its outstanding equity securities if the gross consideration for the purchase or redemption, when combined with the net consideration paid for all such purchases or redemptions during the preceding 12 months, is equal to 10% or more of its consolidated net worth. The Federal Reserve may disapprove such a purchase or redemption if it determines that the proposal would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice or would violate any law, regulation, Federal Reserve order or any condition imposed by, or written agreement with, the Federal Reserve.