institutions and their parent companies. Virtually all aspects of the business of the Bancorp and its subsidiary bank are subject to specific requirements or restrictions and general regulatory oversight. The principal objectives of state and federal banking laws are the maintenance of the safety and soundness of financial institutions and the federal deposit insurance system and the protection of consumers or classes of consumers, rather than the specific protection of shareholders of a bank or the parent company of a bank, such as the Bancorp. In addition, the supervision, regulation and examination of the Bancorp and its subsidiaries by the bank regulatory agencies is not intended for the protection of the Bancorp’s security holders. To the extent the following material describes statutory or regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by reference to the particular statute or regulation. 

The Bancorp is subject to regulation and supervision by the FRB and the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions (the “Division”). The Bancorp is required to file various reports with, and is subject to examination by, the FRB and the Division. The FRB has the authority to issue orders to bank holding companies to cease and desist from unsound banking practices and violations of conditions imposed by, or violations of agreements with, the FRB. The FRB is also empowered to assess civil money penalties against companies or individuals who violate the BHCA or orders or regulations there under, to order termination of non-banking activities of non-banking subsidiaries of bank holding companies, and to order termination of ownership and control of a non-banking subsidiary by a bank holding company. Applicable state and federal law also grant the FRB and the Division the authority to impose additional requirements and restrictions on the activities of the Bancorp and its subsidiary bank and, in some situations, the imposition of such additional requirements and restrictions will not be publicly available information. 

The BHCA requires the prior approval of the FRB, for a bank holding company to acquire substantially all the assets of a bank or to acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of any class of the voting shares of any bank, bank holding company or savings association, or to increase any such non-majority ownership or control of any bank, bank holding company or savings association, or to merge or consolidate with any bank holding company. 

The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 generally authorizes bank holding companies to acquire banks located in any state, subject to certain state-imposed age and deposit concentration limits, and also generally authorizes interstate bank holding company and bank mergers and to a lesser extent, interstate branching. 

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (“GLBA”) permits a qualifying bank holding company to become a financial holding company (“FHC”) and thereby to engage directly or indirectly in a broader range of activities than those permitted for a bank holding company under the BHCA. Permitted activities for a FHC include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance underwriting and brokerage, merchant banking and other activities that are declared by the FRB, in cooperation with the Treasury Department, to be “financial in nature or incidental thereto” or are declared by the FRB unilaterally to be “complementary” to financial activities. In addition, a FHC is allowed to conduct permissible new financial activities or acquire permissible non-bank financial companies with after- the-fact notice to the FRB. A bank holding company may elect to become a FHC if each of its subsidiary banks is well capitalized, is well managed and has at least a “Satisfactory” rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”). Dodd- 

Frank also extended the well capitalized and well managed requirement to the bank holding company. In 2000, the Bancorp elected and qualified for FHC status under the GLBA. To maintain FHC status, a holding company must continue to meet certain requirements. The failure to meet such requirements could result in restrictions on the activities of the FHC or loss of FHC status. If restrictions are imposed on the activities of an FHC, such information may not necessarily be available to the public. 

Unless a bank holding company becomes a FHC under GLBA, the BHCA also prohibits a bank holding company from acquiring a direct or indirect interest in or control of more than 5% of any class of the voting shares of a company that is not a bank or a bank holding company and from engaging directly or indirectly in activities other than those of banking, managing or controlling banks or furnishing services to its subsidiary banks, except that it may engage in and may own shares of companies engaged in certain activities the FRB has determined to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be proper incident thereto. 

The FRB has authority to prohibit bank holding companies from paying dividends if such payment is deemed to be an unsafe or unsound practice. The FRB has indicated generally that it may be an unsafe or unsound practice for bank holding companies to pay dividends unless a bank holding company’s net income is sufficient to fund the dividends and the expected rate of earnings retention is consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. The Bancorp depends in part upon dividends received from its subsidiary bank to fund its activities, including the payment of dividends and its subsidiary bank is subject to regulatory limitations on the amount of dividends it may declare and pay. 

Under FRB policy, a bank holding company is expected to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to each of its subsidiary banks and to commit resources to their support. This support may be required at times when the bank holding company may not have the resources to provide it. 

The Bancorp’s subsidiary bank is subject to extensive federal and state regulation and examination by the Division, the FRB, and the FDIC, which insures the deposits of the Bancorp’s subsidiary bank to the maximum extent permitted by law. The federal and state laws and regulations that are applicable to banks regulate, among other matters, the scope of their business, their investments, their reserves against deposits, the timing of the availability of deposited funds, the amount of loans to individual and related borrowers and the nature, amount of and collateral for certain loans, and the amount of interest that may be charged on loans. Various federal and state consumer laws and regulations also affect the operations of banks. 

In 2006, the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 was signed into law (“FDIRA”). Pursuant to the FDIRA, the Bank Insurance Fund and Savings Association Fund were merged to create the Deposit Insurance Fund (the “DIF”). The FDIC was granted broader authority in adjusting deposit insurance premium rates and more flexibility in establishing the designated reserve ratio. 

As contemplated by the Dodd-Frank Act the FDIC has revised the framework by which insured depository institutions with more than $10 billion in assets (“large IDIs”) are assessed for purposes of payments to the DIF. The final rule implementing revisions to the assessment system was released on February 7, 2011, and will take effect for the quarter beginning April 1, 2011. 

