F O C U S E D O N
P E R F O R M A N C E
2 0 1 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T
R E C O R D O F G R O W T H
Four Whole Bank
Acquisitions Completed
S IN CE 2 014
Total Asset
Growth Rate of 197%
S IN CE 2 014
Loan Growth
of 215%
S IN CE 2 014
175% Increase
in Deposits
S IN CE 2 014
Net Income
Up 130%
S IN CE 201 4
C O N T E N T S MARKET OVERVIEW 1 LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS 2
2019 PERFORMANCE 8 SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION 9 OPERATIONS REVIEW 10
COMPANY PROFILE 18 FIRST BANK LOCATIONS 19 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 20
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT / BANK OFFICERS 22 INVESTMENT PROFILE 24
CORPORATE AND SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION 25
P L A Y I N G T O A B R O A D A U D I E N C E
Our primary banking service area is the New York City to Philadelphia corridor, one of the more
desirable banking markets in the country. The region has an affluent economy, with a strong, diverse
array of employers and ties to New York City’s well-paying financial industries. We offer a full range
of deposit and loan products to individuals and businesses through 18 full-service branches in
Cinnaminson, Cranbury, Delanco, Denville, Ewing, Flemington, Hamilton, Hamilton Square, Lawrence,
Mercerville, Pennington, Randolph, Somerset and Williamstown, New Jersey,
and Doylestown, Trevose, Warminster and West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey, we service Mercer, Hunterdon,
SUSSEX
Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties in central New Jersey.
Our locations in northern New Jersey service Somerset, Morris, Warren,
Sussex, Essex, Union and Hudson counties. Our Eastern Pennsylvania
WARREN
MORRIS
region services Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware and
Chester counties in Pennsylvania, and also includes the southern
New Jersey counties of Burlington, Gloucester and Camden.
ESSEX
ESSEX
UNION
NYC
HUNTERDON
HUDSON
SOMERSET
MIDDLESEX
BUCKS
MERCER
MONMOUTH
FIRST BANK
REGIONAL STRUCTURE
NORTHERN NEW JERSEY REGION
CENTRAL NEW JERSEY REGION
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA REGION
★
HEADQUARTERS AND FIRST BANK BRANCH
FIRST BANK BRANCH
MONTGOMERY
PHILADELPHIA
CHESTER
OCEAN
DELAWARE
BURLINGTON
GLOUCESTER
CAMDEN
I N V E S T M E N T R A T I O N A L E
Preeminent community bank in central NJ with strong growth potential via further
expansion throughout NJ and eastern PA
Focus on non-interest expense control to generate stronger operating leverage
Focus on improved funding mix through growth of lower cost, core commercial deposits
Opportunity for valuation enhancement as bank moves into larger asset category
Russell 3000 Index component
1
T O O U R S H A R E H O L D E R S , S T A K E H O L D E R S ,
E M P L O Y E E S A N D F R I E N D S :
2019: A YEAR OF UNDERLYING PROGRESS DESPITE CHALLENGES
As we suspected one year ago, 2019 proved to be a challenging year. We knew margin compression and tax
changes would work against us, and they did. Nevertheless, we accomplished quite a bit. We also came up short
in a couple of important areas. The year started strong with solid first quarter earnings and a successful core
IT systems conversion. I can’t say enough good things about the great teamwork involved with this project.
Overall, we kept the customer issues to a minimum and we worked tirelessly to resolve the issues that did
materialize. Thanks to this conversion and upgrade, our bank is much better positioned for the future, but the
energy and man-hours required by this project cannot be overstated. The time spent internally for six solid
months certainly impacted our business development efforts and new business pipeline.
Not long after we completed the conversion, the team was hard at work on our fourth bank acquisition.
Once again, we were faced with a strategically important project that required a reallocation of resources.
Our due diligence and M&A conversion teams did a great job bringing the Grand Bank team into the First Bank
family. As a result of our organic growth and Grand Bank merger, we eclipsed the $2.0-billion-asset-threshold
by the end of the third quarter.
While we were making progress in important areas, we also had some challenges during the second and
third quarters. The interest rate environment during the year created a scenario where for a relatively short period
of time, our liability costs remained high while our asset yields started to move lower. By the end of the year,
we were able to move our deposit costs lower and improve the margin in Q4, but our full year results were
certainly impacted by the lower margin for the year. The relatively flat (and sometimes inverted) yield curve did
not help either. Like most banks, we perform better when the yield on longer term assets exceeds shorter
term assets. Because the typical spread was lower in 2019, our margin came down. For example, our margin in
Q3 of 2018 was 3.60%. In Q3 2019, it had moved down to 3.15%. Hard work reducing our deposit pricing brought
our margin back up over 3.30% by Q4.
We also endured a changing tax environment in New Jersey. For example, our income tax expense in 2019
was over $1.5 million higher compared to 2018, despite having a lower level of pre-tax income in 2019.
Additional New Jersey tax expense included a one-time charge related to the valuation of our NJ deferred tax
asset. Going forward we anticipate an effective tax rate that should be closer to 25%, lower than the 29%
rate we experienced in 2019.
We also had elevated credit costs in 2019 that cut into our profitability. Our provision for loan losses in 2019 was
$537 thousand higher compared to 2018, despite slower loan growth. After several years of minimal charge-offs,
we dealt with some credit issues during 2019. We understand that credit costs won’t be near zero every year.
That said, it is our job to keep credit costs low and we will be working hard to keep them low going forward.
Despite these challenges, had our margin or our tax rate been in line with 2018 levels, we would have
enjoyed another year of earnings growth. Even with the lower margin and higher tax rate, we still earned over
$13 million during the year (and that’s after one-time expenses related to the merger and the tax changes).
Nevertheless, our goals for organic growth and earnings for the year were higher than we achieved and we take
that responsibility seriously. To that end, we made several adjustments during 2019 to help ensure we’re able
to meet our 2020 goals — we adjusted staff; we modified our organizational structure in a few key areas; and we
revised our goals and incentives to make sure we’re rewarding the right activities. As a result of these changes,
we’re leaner and more focused than we’ve ever been. As you can see from the cover of this annual report,
we’re laser “Focused on Performance.”
2
Before we discuss our prospects for 2020, I’d like to provide a little more detail
regarding our financial results for 2019.
LOAN GROWTH The loan portfolio grew $261 million in 2019, an increase of almost 18%. A little more than half
of that increase came from the Grand Bank merger and the remainder was organically generated. Our loan
mix remained relatively stable, with Investor CRE loans increasing slightly to 52.1% of total loans. That was up from
50.6% at the end of 2018. Our goal remains to have Investor CRE loans equal to 45 to 50% of total loans.
During the year, our yield on loans was 5.04%, a slight increase over the 5.02% loan yield during 2018. We feel
pretty good about that result given the declining interest rate environment in the second half of the year.
At year-end, our non-performing loans came to 1.32% of total loans, up from 0.44% at year-end 2018.
Net charge-offs during the year were $1.9 million, up from the prior year, when we experienced net charge-offs
of only $9,000. Our allowance for loan losses was 76% of non-performing loans by year end, down from a
high of 238% at the end of 2018. Challenges during the year came primarily from our C&I portfolio. The Investor
CRE portfolio continued to perform very well.
DEPOSIT GROWTH Our total deposits increased by $248 million, or 18%, during 2019. Importantly, our
non-interest bearing (NIB) deposits increased to $276 million at the end of 2019, up from $219 million at the end
of 2018, an increase of $57 million. We were pleased with the growth in this area, as our ratio of NIB to total
deposits increased from 15.7% to 16.8% in 2019. We are moving forward toward our goal of 20% NIB deposits.
Another goal we set during the year was to reduce the difference between our cost of interest bearing liabilities
compared to peer banks in our markets. For the fourth quarter of 2018, our cost was nine basis points higher than
the peer median. By the time we reached the fourth quarter of 2019, that differential had come down to zero.
I’m proud of our team for the great work and discipline required to reach this goal so quickly. In our early years,
we paid up for deposits so that we wouldn’t lose the opportunity to bring on quality loan customers.
Our hope and expectation was that we could work those costs down over time as customers became more
familiar with our locations and great service. I’m very pleased to report that we’re seeing that strategy come to
fruition. In 2020, as we moderate our loan growth aspirations, thereby reducing some of the pressure on our
funding sources, we believe we can continue to see improvements in our funding costs.
Commercial deposit growth is one area where we fell short of plan. Commercial deposits did grow during the
year, just not to the level we had targeted. Some of that variance to plan can be attributed to the core system
conversion during the first part of the year. As I mentioned earlier, we spent a lot of time managing the transition,
which took away from our ability to drive new business. As the result of a great team effort, we’ve established
a nice pipeline of commercial deposit customers and I’m optimistic about our growth potential in this category
in 2020.
NET INTEREST MARGIN The good news regarding the margin in 2019 is that we were able to reverse the
compression we experienced through the first three quarters of 2019. Our margin declined from 3.44% during
the fourth quarter of 2018 to 3.15% during the third quarter of 2019. That reduction of almost 30 bps makes
a big impact when you’ve got a $2 billion balance sheet. Our efforts to control and improve funding costs
helped reverse that trend in the fourth quarter as our margin improved to 3.34%. Inevitably, changes in the rate
environment or the shape of the yield curve can have short term impacts on profitability, both positive as
we saw in 2018, or negative as we saw in 2019. It takes time to make adjustments based upon the new rate
environment. But, if the interest rate position of the bank is well managed, as ours is, adjustments can and do
get made to bring profitability back to better levels.
3
ADDITION OF GRAND BANK Our merger with Grand Bank closed on September 30, 2019. The conversion took
place in early December and our two newest Mercer County NJ locations are up and running on the First Bank
systems. With six branch locations in Mercer County, we have further solidified our position as the preeminent
community bank in the county. We also brought over some great people and great new customers that will help
us continue to build and grow our presence in Central NJ.
I’d like to take a moment to thank our new Board member and former Grand Bank Chairman, Peter Pantages, for
all his hard work during the past year — getting the merger agreement finalized and helping with the transition
of staff and customers. These projects always require hard work and extra effort and cooperation from both sides
is critical. Thank you, Peter. I’d also like to thank the members of the Grand Bank staff. Change is never easy,
but our newest team members worked hard and kept an open mind, which helped to facilitate a good transition.
So, how did those developments impact profitability in 2019?
NET INCOME AND EARNINGS PER SHARE Net income was $13.4 million and diluted EPS was $0.69 compared
to $17.6 million and $0.95 per diluted share in 2018. These bottom line results reflect a reduced net interest
margin, one-time merger-related costs, higher taxes, and elevated credit costs.
PRE-PROVISION, NET REVENUE (PPNR) This is a metric we follow to see how we’re progressing when you
extract some of the non-operating components of profitability. The metric is calculated by taking our net interest
income (before the provision for loan losses), adding non-interest income excluding non-recurring items (gains
or losses on sales or securities, bargain purchase gains, and gains on recovery of acquired loans), and subtracting
non-interest expense excluding non-recurring items (merger-related expenses). We look at this non-GAAP
measure on a quarterly basis to get a sense of our core operating earnings trends. You will find each of the
components listed above broken out in our audited financial statements.
PPNR of $25.9 million in 2019 was up slightly from $25.3 million in 2018. Because this metric excludes
the provision for loan losses, non-recurring expenses and tax changes, it gives a closer look at just the impact
from growth and the changing margin. It shows that much of the benefit of growth during the year was
offset by declines in the margin.
BOOK VALUE We closed the year with book value of $11.07 per share, an increase of $0.64, or 6.1%, compared
to year-end 2018. Tangible book value per share reached $10.17 at the end of 2019, an increase of $0.67, or 7.1%,
compared to year-end 2018. Continued growth of book value will be an important driver of future value creation
for our shareholders. Over the past five years, book value per share has increased $4.19, or 60.9%, and tangible
book value per share has increased $2.94, or 41%. We believe that tangible book value per share growth should
continue to improve as the benefits of our prior acquisitions get fully realized.
ROA AND ROE Our ROA was 0.99% for the first quarter of 2019; it dipped down to 0.64% and 0.23% in the
second and third quarters, but bounced back to 1.02% in the fourth quarter. Adjusted ROA, primarily excluding
the impact of the NJ DTA revaluation, moved up to 1.13% in the fourth quarter. As our cover for this annual report
clearly highlights, we’re focused on performance and ROA is probably our most important metric. In 2020 we
plan to show that we’ve built a great bank with strong earnings power. Strong ROA performance will be the best
indicator of whether we’re meeting our goals.
ROE followed a similar trend to ROA in 2019 — 8.79% in the first quarter, 5.64% and 2.11% in quarters two and
three, and back up to 9.17% in quarter four. Adjusted ROE reached 10.18% in the fourth quarter. Given the presence
of intangible assets on our balance sheet from prior acquisitions, we also look at ROATCE, return on average
tangible common equity. That ratio reached 11.18% for the fourth quarter of 2019. Strong earnings coupled with
stock repurchase activity in 2020 will help us push these key ratios even higher.
4
2020: Continued Growth with a Greater Focus on Profitability
We have progressed from a start-up venture to a high growth and solidly profitable community bank over the past
eleven years, as we’ve worked effectively to balance growth and profitability. Early on, we knew scale would be
important given the changing competitive and regulatory landscape. That drive to scale helped us reach
$2.0 billion in assets in a relatively short period of time. It also drove a significant amount of reinvestment back
into the franchise. Going forward, we plan to rebalance the scales — with more focus on current operating profit
while still making important strategic investments. We don’t consider this a binary or “black and white” proposition.
Rather, it’s like gradations on a scale. In the very early days, we needed to grow to build a strong base for future
earnings. As we’ve matured as a company, we’ve been gradually rebalancing the scales. That process will continue
into 2020. Our strong profitability metrics in the fourth quarter of 2019 give us reason for optimism that our
efforts to improve near-term profitability are working. We want 2020 to be a year where we can show the true
potential of the excellent franchise we’ve created. We expect to drive earnings growth in three ways — lower
funding costs to protect the margin, continued expense management, and incremental additional fee income.
A FOCUS ON LOWER FUNDING COSTS AND MORE MODERATE ASSET GROWTH We continue to generate
significant lending opportunities, with robust activity in our loan pipeline. In 2020, we plan to focus on margin
protection rather than net interest income dollar growth. The pace at which we generate core deposits will also
influence our loan funding. Our commercial deposit pipeline has been building nicely since the conversion and we
appear poised to drive solid growth in this category. We believe that this will provide greater flexibility in how
we set CD rates in 2020, and help to drive down our funding costs. We had success with this strategy in the
latter part of 2019 and we have significant opportunities to continue to move CD costs down in 2020. The overall
level of CD retention at lower rates will also impact our asset growth levels during the first half of 2020.
The bottom line is that we will be more focused on earnings growth over asset growth in 2020.
CONTINUED EXPENSE MANAGEMENT There are two basic levers available to grow earnings — increase revenues
and control expenses. Given that we’re planning to moderate asset growth, and that will constrain revenue
growth to some degree, we will continue to actively manage expenses to drive earnings growth. I believe our
track record on expense management has been good, but our efforts to control spending will continue in
earnest in 2020. In fact, we’ve already made some changes in that direction over the past couple of months:
we streamlined and centralized our investor real estate lending group; we rebalanced our lending and deposit
teams to reduce costs at the higher end of the pay scale with lower-priced support staff; and we effectively
achieved our cost cutting goals from the Grand Bank merger. Our efficiency ratio reached a low of 53.2%
in the fourth quarter of 2019. While that number might be artificially low given some higher than normal fee
income results in that quarter, we will certainly be working to keep the efficiency ratio below the 60% level that
we realized during most of 2019.
IMPROVED NON-INTEREST INCOME Fee income will continue to remain a smaller component of our overall
revenue mix. That said, outside of major business line shifts, we still have opportunities to drive additional income
to the Bank. We’re anticipating that non-interest income from SBA loan sales and loan interest rate swaps will
help drive improvement in this area. We expect that this will be a continuation of a modest trend where non-interest
income, not including gains on recovery of acquired loans, as a percentage of net revenues improved from
3.6% in 2015 to 5.2% in 2019. We have opted to not chase dollars in businesses where we don’t have knowledge,
expertise or competitive advantage. SBA and loan swaps are good examples of opportunities for increased
fee income where we can leverage our core strengths as a commercial lender.
5
Focused on Performance
People often debate the virtues of quantity versus quality.
For First Bank, this debate must be framed in the context of
company life cycle and business conditions. In the early
stages of our development, when the drive for scale was
so critical, quantity was a primary focus. In the current
UPDATE ON NOVEL CORONAVIRUS
The current international public health issue
related to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has
the potential to impact business activity for
financial institutions generally and for First Bank.
Although there is no way to accurately estimate
how large an impact this will have on the
economic environment, and given our much-improved size
Bank’s customers, demand for our products and
and scale, quality will take on even more importance.
services or the Federal Reserve’s potential to
While we’re disappointed with the market’s current valuation
of First Bank, we believe that we have the appropriate
strategy in place to improve our bottom line performance,
along with continuing to build long-term enduring value.
We have assembled a strong and very competitive
franchise in a relatively brief period of time, and
demonstrated an ability to generate strong organic growth.
We continue to attract the top banking talent available
take action to mitigate the economic impact,
we continue to monitor market conditions and
are preparing to respond to a range of scenarios.
We believe that the near-term operating
strategy described in this report is appropriate
for the economic conditions which now appear
likely for some portion or all of 2020. We are
also actively evaluating what precautions are
in our region. We’re working to create a high-performing,
necessary to reduce the possibility that our
truly-differentiated community bank that delivers an
customers or employees could be exposed to the
exceptional customer experience. We believe we’re on the
virus and will take all appropriate measures.
right path to building an engine that drives superior
shareholder returns. Famous investor Benjamin Graham
once said: “In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run it is a weighing machine.”
One of my jobs is to try and help the market stop voting and start weighing the real intrinsic value of the First Bank
franchise. The most important thing we can do to make that happen is to “Focus on Performance.”
The other thing I need to do is help raise awareness and visibility regarding First Bank and the strong and
valuable franchise we’ve created. Those will be my top priorities in 2020.
Lastly, a special thanks to our customers, employees, and shareholders. Without all three working together
the Bank cannot be successful. We appreciate your support and dedication and we look forward to sharing more
good news with you as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Patrick L. Ryan
President and CEO
Note: The foregoing material contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Bank. We caution
that such statements are subject to a number of uncertainties, including but not limited to those set forth under the caption “Item 1A – Risk Factors” in the
accompanying annual report on Form 10-K, as well as changes in economic activity in our markets, changes in interest rates and changes in regulation and the
regulatory environment, and actual results could differ materially, and, therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
The Bank does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking
statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
6
2 0 1 9 P E R F O R M A N C E H I G H L I G H T S
Net income for 2019 of $13.4 million,
or $0.69 per diluted share
Total net revenue*
increased to $62.4 million
Total loans of $1.7 billion at yearend,
a 17.8% increase from 2018
Total deposits grew by 17.8% to
$1.6 billion at 2019 yearend
Total assets reach $2.0 billion,
up $300.4 million, or 17.6% from 12-31-2018
Successful integration
of Grand Bank merger
Completion of core IT system
conversion to Fiserv
* Total net revenue is the sum of net interest income
and non-interest income.
7
Total Assets
AT 12-31, $ IN BILLIONS
Total Loans
AT 12-31, $ IN BILLIONS
0.86
1.07
1.45
1.71
2.01
0.74
0.89
1.17
1.39
1.64
23.8
28.9
39.7
54.9
58.4
25.5
30.5
41.8
58.4
62.4
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5-YEAR CAGR = 25.8%
Total Stockholders’ Equity
AT 12-31, $ IN MILLIONS
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5-YEAR CAGR = 28.4%
Net Income
FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31, $ IN MILLIONS
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5-YEAR CAGR = 18.2%
Book Value Per Share
$ AT 12-31
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
0.69
0.90
1.23
1.46
1.72
68.8
88.8
163.3
194.8
226.4
3.9
6.4
7.0
17.6
13.4
7.26
7.78
9.36
10.43
11.07
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5-YEAR CAGR = 24.3%
Total Deposits
AT 12-31, $ IN BILLIONS
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5-YEAR CAGR = 22.4%
Net Interest Income
FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31, $ IN MILLIONS
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5-YEAR CAGR = 22.4%
Total Net Revenue
FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31, $ IN MILLIONS
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
8
5-YEAR CAGR = 18.8%
5-YEAR CAGR = 10.0%
Selected Financial Information
IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT COMMON SHARE DATA
AT OR FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,
2019
2014
5-YR CAGR
Efficiency Ratio1
% FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31
71.7
61.2
55.3
56.1
58.0
Selected Balance Sheet Data
Total assets
Total loans
Allowance for loan losses
Total deposits
Total borrowings
Total subordinated debentures
Total stockholders’ equity
Average total assets
Average stockholders’ equity
Selected Income Statement Data
Interest and dividend income
$
Interest expense
$ 2,011,587
1,723,574
17,245
1,640,867
105,476
21,964
226,393
1,858,291
207,338
Net interest income
Provision for loan losses
Net interest income after provision
for loan losses
Non-interest income
Non-interest expense
Income before income taxes
Income tax expense
$
$
677,458
547,759
6,104
596,482
14,000
—
64,759
597,811
61,530
25,350
4,137
21,213
2,438
18,775
5,099
15,820
8,054
2,218
84,170
25,804
58,366
3,984
54,382
3,995
39,364
19,013
5,568
Net income
$
13,445
$
5,836
Common Share Data
Diluted earnings per share
Cash dividends paid
Book value per common share
Tangible book value per common share1
Common shares outstanding
Selected Performance Ratios
Return on average assets
Adjusted return on average assets1
Return on average equity
Adjusted return on average equity1
Adjusted return on average tangible
common equity1
Net interest margin, tax equivalent2
Efficiency ratio1
Selected Asset Quality Ratios
Nonperforming loans to total loans3
Allowance for loan losses
to nonperforming loans
Net loan charge offs to average loans
Capital Ratios
Stockholders’ equity to assets
Tier 1 leverage capital
Common equity tier 1 capital4
Tier 1 risk-based capital
Total risk-based capital
$
0.69
0.12
11.07
$
10.17
20,458,665
$
0.63
—
6.88
$
6.84
9,408,491
0.72%
0.88%
6.48%
7.93%
8.67%
3.32%
58.00%
0.98%
0.54%
9.48%
5.23%
5.26%
3.75%
68.46%
1.32%
1.30%
75.82%
0.12%
11.25%
10.27%
10.74%
10.74%
12.79%
85.83%
0.22%
9.56%
9.72%
—
10.96%
12.00%
1 This measure is not recognized under U.S. GAAP and is therefore a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure.
See our annual report on Form 10-K for a reconciliation of the 2019 calculation.
2 The tax equivalent adjustment is calculated using a federal income tax rate of 21% in 2019 and 34% in 2014.
3 Nonperforming loans consist of nonaccrual loans and loans past due 90 days or more and still accruing.
4 New regulatory capital measure calculated under Basel III rules which became effective January 1, 2015.
24.3%
25.8%
23.1%
22.4%
49.8%
N/M
28.4%
2 5.5%
2 7.5%
2 7.1%
44.2%
22.4%
10.3%
23.7%
(4.8%)
20.0%
18.7%
20.2%
18.2%
1.8%
N/M
10.0%
8.3%
16.8%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Net Charge-Offs/Average Loans
% AT 12-31
0.14
0.10
0.08
0.00
0.12
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Return on Average Assets
% FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31
0.51
0.66
0.57
1.09
0.72
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Return on Average Equity
% FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31
5.74
8.08
5.60
9.70
6.48
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
9
OUR SUCCESS IS BUILT
ON OUR CORE VALUES OF
INTEGRITY, CUSTOMER
FOCUS AND A DESIRE TO
GET THINGS DONE.
WE PROVIDE OUR
CUSTOMERS REAL
RELATIONSHIPS WITH
PERSONAL BANKERS THAT
OFFER QUICK AND
THOUGHTFUL ADVICE.
10
F I N E - T U N I N G O U R S O U N D
Delivering
High Quality
Service
We are working to enhance the value contained in the 18-branch banking franchise we’ve assembled
throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, in highly desirable markets characterized by very strong
income and business activity demographics. Although we have an abundance of banking competitors, there
are relatively few strong community banks in the high wealth and densely populated New York City
to Philadelphia corridor. With a full range of bank products and services, we are strongly positioned to target
business from individuals, businesses, and governmental entities located in our primary service areas.
We are successfully expanding our brand into communities located in the New York City to Philadelphia
corridor by providing a superior customer experience, including access to our decision makers, along
with competitive interest rates and fees. We hire, develop and retain quality employees who seek to be part
of a dynamic and growing institution with a rising market profile throughout New Jersey and
eastern Pennsylvania. Our service area is economically and geographically diverse with an abundance of
customers with sophisticated banking needs and a desire for the personalized service we provide.
Our philosophy of relationship banking and our in-market expertise are the key differentiating factors that
drive our ability to attract and retain new customers.
Our decision to expand our service footprint into eastern Pennsylvania was driven by similar market
demographics including household income, business activity and population density. The eastern
Pennsylvania and central New Jersey region is more urbanized than the nation as a whole, and studies by
the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank (PFRB) cite evidence that community banks in this area tend
to be larger. PFRB research also found that area community banks have a comparative advantage in lending
to the region’s small businesses because they maintain relationships that rely on soft information about
firms and their business environment developed over a long history of doing business with the firm.
This finding is consistent with the results that First Bank has realized during the last five years, as we grew
our loan portfolio by an average of nearly 26% per year by focusing on building strong relationships with our
clients. This approach enables our associates to anticipate the needs of our customers and react quickly,
a strong competitive advantage over the region’s larger institutions.
The economic strength and business activity level of our market area has made it possible for us to grow to
a size that allows us to better leverage economies of scale for both organic and acquired expansion.
We see no shortage of customers that prefer our personalized relationship approach to banking.
This preference for service, combined with a continuation of economic studies that indicate relatively robust
activity for the region in the foreseeable future, indicates that 2020 offers considerable opportunity and
promise for First Bank.
11
A B I G B A N D H I T T I N G B I G N O T E S
Accretive
M&A Complements
Organic Growth
We opened our doors for business in April 2007 and had total assets of just $20.0 million at
December 31, 2007. In just 13 years, First Bank has grown to more than $2 billion in total assets with
bottom line profitability of more than $13.4 million in 2019. The Bank’s expansion is a reflection of
our early focus on organic growth within our targeted service area. More recently we have employed
a balance of organic growth and targeted acquisitions to expand our service area or strengthen
our position within an existing market. The Bank’s growth was dramatic in the early years, reflecting
our smaller asset size, an effective and targeted strategy and a vibrant market area with
attractive demographics.
An effective operating strategy and strong commitment to growth resulted in the quadrupling of
our asset size from 2010 to 2015, with most of the increase coming from organic activities.
With our ongoing commitment to profitable growth, it’s not surprising that the Bank’s asset size
more than doubled since 2015, reflecting continued strong organic growth initiatives along with
acquisitions located in and around our original central New Jersey market area. Our strategy involves
evaluating opportunities to acquire whole banks, business lines or branches that complement
our market expansion objectives. Our approach to acquisitions is always disciplined and effective
and with four successful transactions during the last five years we consider this activity to be
a core competency of our team.
The first of our four transactions closed during the first quarter of 2014 when we acquired
Heritage Community Bank. This transaction immediately accelerated our growth trajectory creating
a $600 million asset institution with eight branch locations throughout New Jersey. Seeking to
maintain a balance between organic and acquired growth we crossed the Delaware River in
2015 and opened a de novo location in Trevose, Pennsylvania, our 10th customer service location.
We complemented the Trevose branch opening and attained additional scale in Pennsylvania in 2017
with the acquisition of Bucks County Bank, which added approximately $200 million in assets
along with additional service locations in the desirable northeast suburbs of Philadelphia.
We increased our market presence in southern New Jersey in second quarter 2018 by acquiring
Delanco Bancorp, which added two branches in Burlington County, our 16th and 17th locations.
During 2019 we had the opportunity to enhance First Bank’s market presence in Mercer County and
add a diversified, high-yielding loan portfolio through the acquisition of Grand Bank N.A.,
which closed in the third quarter. The combination of strong organic loan growth and acquisition
activity resulted in a five-year compound annual growth rate
of 25.8% through December 31, 2019, driven by our strong
commercial lending presence.
First Bank’s M&A team is led by Andrew L. Hibshman, FSVP/ Chief Accounting Officer;
John F. Shepardson, FSVP/Chief Administrative Officer; and, Stephen F. Carman,
EVP/Chief Financial Officer.
12
COMBINATION OF ORGANIC
AND ACQUIRED GROWTH
DISCIPLINED AND EFFECTIVE
APPROACH TO ACQUISITIONS
M&A IS A CORE COMPETENCY
OF OUR TEAM
13
WE COMPLETED AN IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGIC INITIATIVE IN 2019,
BY CONVERTING TO A NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CORE SYSTEM.
14
A N A C O U S T I C A L L Y S O U N D A P P R O A C H
An Infrastructure
for Profitable Growth
During the last three years we have continuously invested in building an infrastructure capable of handling
our double-digit organic growth, as well as multiple whole-bank acquisitions that expanded our banking
footprint and added scale to our operations. While we have made some bricks and mortar investments during
that time, our primary focus has been on people and technology. We have strengthened our back-office
support to enable our regional teams to more effectively originate new loans and attract core deposits.
We have evaluated and invested in enhanced technology that drives internal operating efficiencies for all of
our customer-facing associates. We have put in place the infrastructure necessary to support our
$2 billion institution, as well as the growth we expect to generate over the next several years.
Our service footprint has expanded significantly in recent years, reflecting a growth strategy that utilizes
whole bank acquisitions and targeted de novo locations which complement the existing coverage area.
Our market area now covers 15 counties throughout New Jersey, as well as another five counties in eastern
Pennsylvania, resulting in a total area of approximately 7,840 square miles. To effectively handle an area of this
size with varied demographics, we established regional lending teams to make sure we have a solid core
of relationship managers in each market who are focused on commercial and industrial (C&I) relationships
and the deposits that come with them. We have also developed specialty lending teams to service focus
areas such as investor real estate, which has long been an important part of our commercial lending activity.
With the 2019 acquisition of Grand Bank, we acquired an SBA lending team that we intend to leverage to
grow this part of our business and to support SBA borrowing activity across our market area.
During 2019, we completed an important strategic initiative related to our infrastructure by converting to
a new information technology core system. We had conducted a detailed evaluation of potential
options and determined that Fiserv had the best combination of technology and the most efficient cost
structure to meet our growth needs for the foreseeable future. We believe that new technology improves
the effectiveness of our customer-facing associates, as well as providing better visibility into real-time
performance and results by geographic region.
During 2020, we plan to advance some additional profitability and growth initiatives which include:
banker business development training to attract new C&I customers to First Bank; the launch of an online
account opening platform; digital marketing campaigns to increase the reach of our brand beyond the
geographic footprint of our physical locations; staff mix optimization to increase the number of proactive
business development team members in the marketplace; and, improved reporting to track individual
sales goals versus monthly production.
Our IT system conversion was led by Gabriel K. Dragos,
SVP/Head of Operations; Gregory Weckel, VP/Information Technology Manager;
David D. Lidster, FSVP/Chief Technology Officer and Belinda L. Blazic,
SVP/Loan Administration Manager (not pictured).
15
W E L L - O R C H E S T R A T E D P L A N N I N G
Strategic Focus
With a five-year compound annual growth rate for total assets of more than 24%, First Bank has been one
of the country’s fasting growing community banks during that period. While we intend to continue to
grow our franchise in 2020 and beyond, we plan to enhance our focus on the Company’s bottom line through
smart targeted growth and by carefully managing non-interest expenses. We believe that by leveraging our
existing service footprint in 2020, we can obtain a more moderate level of growth with significantly
improved profit metrics.
The growth of First Bank staffing levels is expected to be modest in 2020 as we plan to add some additional
support staff, such as portfolio managers, underwriters or loan administrators as needed to support our
regional sales teams. We are focused on controlling costs throughout the Bank. Our efficiency ratio for 2019
was a solid 58.00% and our objective for 2020 is to match or better this performance.
An important strategic objective for 2020 is to lower the Bank’s cost of funding by focusing on lower cost
core deposits. We made headway on this effort during the fourth quarter of 2019 by allowing some
price-sensitive time deposits to run off, which was reflected in a 14 basis-point drop in the average rate
for interest bearing deposits from the linked third quarter. This effort was also helped by a nearly $40 million
increase in our average non-interest-bearing deposits balance compared to third quarter 2019, reflecting
the positive impact of the Grand Bank acquisition and favorable results related to our commercial and
non-interest bearing deposit gathering efforts. We expect to maintain a very disciplined pricing policy for
time deposits in 2020, while at the same time working to retain these balances.
Our Commercial Deposits team is led by Emilio Cooper, EVP/Chief Deposits Officer and
also includes Karen J. Conway, VP/Business Banker; Casi L. Tiernan, SVP/Head of Cash Management;
Thomas P. Fehn, Jr., SVP/Retail & Business Banking Market Manager; and,
Ryan D. Earley, VP/Business Banker (not pictured).
16
Performance Accolades
Our company’s substantial growth in recent years garnered recognition from two important regional business
media organizations. Each year the Philadelphia Business Journal honors the 76 fastest growing companies
in the Greater Philadelphia area in its Soaring 76 list. First Bank was included among the 2019 honorees,
which are required to have a sustained revenue growth history from 2016 through the end of 2018.
Similarly, in 2019 First Bank was once again named to the NJBIZ Fast 50, a list that celebrates the dynamic
growth of New Jersey companies. Similar to the Soaring 76, the Fast 50 honorees were chosen based
on an evaluation of revenue increases from the past three years.
We received favorable deposit and debt ratings from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) in 2019,
a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. KBRA’s ratings and stable outlook cited our successful strategy utilizing both acquisitions and
organic growth to build scale within our service footprint, resulting in improved operating leverage and
enhanced profitability, as well as an enhanced capital position. We believe the favorable ratings may
offer additional capital market flexibility and provides current and future customers additional assurance
of our sound operating environment.
IN 2019, WE RECEIVED FAVORABLE
DEPOSIT AND DEBT RATINGS
FROM KROLL BOND RATING AGENCY,
A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED
STATISTICAL RATING ORGANIZATION.
17
F I R S T B A N K P R O F I L E
Bauer Financial 5-Star
rated bank (top ranking)
★★★★★
NEW JERSEY STATE-CHARTERED BANK
HEADQUARTERS – HAMILTON, NJ
$2.0 billion in assets
AT 12-31-19
MARKET AREA
New York City to
Philadelphia corridor
Investment grade ratings
on deposit products and debt
FROM KROLL BOND RATING AGENCY IN 2019
LOAN PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE 75.1% AND
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 13.9%
Traditional range of deposit
and loan products
18
full-service branches in
New Jersey and Pennsylvania
18
F I R S T B A N K L O C A T I O N S
ADMINISTRATIVE
2465 Kuser Road
Hamilton, NJ 08690
877 821 2265
1395 Yardville-Hamilton Square Road
Hamilton, NJ 08691
877 821 2265
2297 Route #33
Hamilton Square, NJ 08690
609 514 3900
FULL SERVICE BRANCHES
NEW JERSEY
CINNAMINSON
506 US Route 130 North
Suite #1
Cinnaminson, NJ 08077
856 303 8899
CRANBURY
2664 US Route 130
Cranbury, NJ 08512
609 642 1064
DELANCO
615 Burlington Avenue
Delanco, NJ 08075
856 461 0611
DENVILLE
530 East Main Street (Route 53)
Denville, NJ 07834
973 625 1407
EWING
1340 Parkway Avenue
Ewing, NJ 08628
609 643 0470
FLEMINGTON
334 Highway 31 North
Flemington, NJ 08822
908 751 0318
HAMILTON
2465 Kuser Road
Hamilton, NJ 08690
609 528 4400
HAMILTON SQUARE
2265 Route #33
Hamilton Square, NJ 08690
609 269 1619
LAWRENCE
PENNSYLVANIA
DOYLESTOWN
200 South Main Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
215 230 7533
TREVOSE
4956-66 Old Street Road
Trevose, PA 19053
267 984 4537
WARMINSTER
356 York Road
Warminster, PA 18974
215 441 4118
WEST CHESTER
121 North Walnut Street
Suite 320
West Chester, PA 19380
590 Lawrence Square Boulevard South
484 881 3800
Lawrence, NJ 08648
609 587 3111
MERCERVILLE
1 Edinburg Road
Mercerville, NJ 08619
609 269 1616
PENNINGTON
3 Tree Farm Road
Pennington, NJ 08534
609 281 5808
RANDOLPH
1206 Sussex Turnpike
Randolph, NJ 07869
973 895 5800
SOMERSET
225 DeMott Lane
Somerset, NJ 08873
732 649 1999
WILLIAMSTOWN
1020 North Black Horse Pike
Williamstown, NJ 08094
856 728 3400
19
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S
PATRICK M. RYAN
CHAIRMAN
Owner of North Buffalo Advisors, LLC;
former President and Chief Executive
Officer of Yardville National Bank
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 01 1
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Asset/Liability, Compliance,
Information Technology
LESLIE E. GOODMAN
VICE CHAIRMAN
LEAD INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR
Principal of The Eagle Group of
Princeton, Inc.; Director of Wawa, Inc.
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 008
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Asset/Liability (Chair),
Compensation and Personnel
PATRICK L. RYAN
President and Chief Executive Officer
of First Bank
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 008
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Asset/Liability, Compliance,
Information Technology
ELBERT G. BASOLIS, JR.
President and Owner
of Garrison Enterprises Inc.
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 008
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Information Technology (Chair),
Nominating and Governance,
Compensation and Personnel
2 0
DOUGLAS C. BORDEN
Partner of Borden Perlman
Insurance Agency
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 01 7
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Nominating and Governance (Chair),
Compensation and Personnel,
Information Technology
CHRISTOPHER B. CHANDOR
Chief Executive Officer
of Penn’s Grant Corporation;
former Vice Chairman
of Bucks County Bank
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 01 7
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Audit and Risk Management,
Compliance,
Nominating and Governance
PATRICIA A. COSTANTE
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of MDAdvantage Insurance Company
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 01 9
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Asset/Liability,
Audit and Risk Management,
Compliance
SCOTT R. GAMBLE
Principal of Patriot Financial Partners, L.P.
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 020
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Asset/Liability,
Compensation and Personnel,
Audit and Risk Management,
Compliance
DEBORAH PAIGE HANSON
Principal, Executive Vice President and
Fund Manager of The Hampshire Companies
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 01 6
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Compensation and Personnel (Chair),
Nominating and Governance,
Information Technology
PETER PANTAGES
Former Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Grand Bank
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 01 9
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Audit and Risk Management,
Compliance,
Information Technology
GARY S. HOFING
Principal of The Eagle Group of Princeton, Inc;
former Vice President
of Hofing Management, LLC
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 01 6
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Asset/Liability, Compliance,
Information Technology
GLENN M. JOSEPHS
Partner of Friedman, LLP; former Partner,
Bagell, Josephs, Levine and Company, LLC
D IRE CTO R S INCE 2 008
BOA RD CO MMI TTEE S
Audit and Risk Management (Chair),
Nominating and Governance,
Compensation and Personnel
MICHAEL E. SALZ
President of Linden Bulk
Transportation Co., LLC
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 01 7
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Audit and Risk Management,
Asset/Liability, Compensation
and Personnel
JOHN E. STRYDESKY
Certified Public Accountant;
Owner of Strydesky & Company,
CPAs/Business Consultants
DI R ECTO R SIN CE 2 01 0
B OA RD CO MMI TTEES
Compliance (Chair),
Audit and Risk Management,
Asset/Liability
All directors also serve on the Strategic Planning
and Board Loan Committees.
21
E X E C U T I V E M A N A G E M E N T T E A M
PATRICK L. RYAN
PRESIDENT | CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Pat Ryan has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of First Bank since 2013.
In 2008, Mr. Ryan worked with the investor group that recapitalized the Bank, joined the Bank’s
Board of Directors and was appointed Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this time he was First
Senior Vice President, Emerging Markets Manager for Yardville National Bank. Mr. Ryan joined
Yardville National Bank in 2005 as head of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development,
responsible for strategy, mergers and acquisitions, branch expansion, investor relations,
research and analysis.
PETER J. CAHILL
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | CHIEF LENDING OFFICER
Peter Cahill has served as Chief Lending Officer of First Bank since 2008, when he joined
the Bank, and was appointed an Executive Vice President in December 2013. Prior to joining
First Bank he served as Senior Vice President/Sales Manager for PNC Financial Services Group
from October 2007 to October 2008. In addition, Mr. Cahill held senior level positions
with Midlantic National Bank, Fleet Boston and Yardville National Bank. Mr. Cahill has 40 years
of banking experience.
STEPHEN F. CARMAN
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Steve Carman has served as Chief Financial Officer of First Bank since 2008, when he joined
the Bank, and was appointed an Executive Vice President in December 2013. Mr. Carman served
as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Yardville National Bank from
1992 until 2007. Mr. Carman spent his entire 30-year banking career prior to joining First Bank
at Yardville National Bank. Mr. Carman has more than 40 years of banking experience.
EMILIO COOPER
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | CHIEF DEPOSITS OFFICER
Emilio Cooper has served as Chief Deposits Officer of First Bank since joining the Bank
in October 2018. He is responsible for leading the Retail and Commercial Deposit areas
and accelerating the Bank’s core deposit growth. Mr. Cooper has over 20 years of banking
experience, both locally and in the Midwest. Most recently, he was the Head of Sales
and Distribution for US Retail Banking at BMO Harris Bank, a $110 billion asset bank with over
500 locations. Prior to BMO, he held the role of Retail Director for Citizens Bank in the
Greater Philadelphia area and Community Bank President for Wells Fargo/Wachovia.
2 2
B A N K O F F I C E R S
FIRST SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS
Joseph R. Calabro
Pennsylvania Regional President
Marianne E. DeSimone
Lending Group Manager
David J. DiStefano
Northern New Jersey Regional President
Andrew L. Hibshman
Chief Accounting Officer
David D. Lidster
Chief Technology Officer
Maria E. Mayshura
Chief Risk Officer
Gene C. McCarthy
Central New Jersey Regional President
Arlene S. Pedovitch
Senior Credit Officer
John F. Shepardson
Chief Administrative Officer
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS
Scott A. Bachman
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Belinda L. Blazic
Loan Administration Manager
Kimberly Cerasi
Human Resources Officer
Scott W. Civil
Market Executive
Michael B. Cook
Manager Investor Real Estate
Gabriel K. Dragos
Head of Operations
Thomas P. Fehn, Jr.
Retail Market Manager
Lewis R. Fogg, Jr.
Retail & Business Banking Market Manager
Nancy C. German
Deposit Operations Officer
Terrance R. Howard
Market Executive
Sriramulu Krishnamurthy
SBA Manager
Maria Leibowitz-Curry
Chief Compliance Officer
Lauretta Lucchesi
Team Leader
David Hill Marx
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Debra A. Morreale
Business Systems
Gregorio Perri, Jr.
Consumer Lending Manager
Donald Theobald, Jr.
Controller
Casi L. Tiernan
Head of Cash Management
Richard Tocci
Manager Investor Real Estate
VICE PRESIDENTS
Joseph F. Browarski
Loan Workout Officer
Richard L. Burzynski
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Michael P. Cahill
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Marjorie A. Callahan
Relationship Manager
Elizabeth F. Camishion
Systems Application Administrator
Edward Caporellie, Jr.
Branch Sales Manager
Joseph Cavalchire
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager II
Louis A. Cialarante
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
David A. Colby
Branch Area Manager – Central New Jersey East
Karen J. Conway
Business Banker
Joan S. Costa
Loan Administration Assistant Manager
Cori Cubberley
Loan Accounting Manager
Kimberly Dargay
Branch Operations Manager
Ryan D. Earley
Business Banker
Jason Fischer
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Brent Gardner
Consumer Loan Officer
Denise Goetting
Branch Area Manager - Nothern New Jersey
Robert Goldzman
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Robert C. Gossenberger
Branch Sales Manager
Philip M. Heberling
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Paula Huergo
Strategic Planning Officer
Kyle E. Johnson
Head of Training,
Retail/Analytics Project Manager
Gregory S. Kay
Branch Sales Manager
Christopher M. Kelly
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager II
Amanda M. Kenny
Internal Audit Manager
Brett Lawrence
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Larry F. Lee
Loan Workout Manager
Michelle Mack
Compliance Officer
Tina Middleton
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Carol Monaghan
Branch Sales Manager
James F. Monaghan III
Senior Financial Projects Manager
James T. Muller
Branch Area Manager – Central New Jersey West
Sarah M. Pearson
CRA Officer
John C. Pettit
Branch Area Manager – Southern New Jersey
Frank P. Puleio
Business Development Officer
Katherine M. Rowley
Branch Operations Manager
Brendan P. Ryan
Bank Secrecy Act Officer
Sandra K. Ryan
Branch Sales Manager
Kyle Smith
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
John M. Thompson
Treasury Management Sales Officer
Anchal A. Trivedi
Credit Manager
Jennifer Wallace-Dressner
Assistant Controller
Marie Wanat
Branch Area Manager –
Bucks/Montgomery Counties, PA
Gregory Weckel
Information Technology Manager
Caryn Wilson
Retail & Business Banking Operations Officer
Mark F. Wrobel
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENTS
Alexandra Acevedo
Treasury Management Sales Support
Brian W. Ballentine
Branch Operations Manager
Sharon E. Bokma
Branch Operations Manager
Michael R. Borkowski
Branch Sales Manager
Linda Deckman
Underwriter
Gwendelyn C. Fisher
Marketing Manager
Patrick L. Giallombardo
Commercial Real Estate Administrator
Michele M. Green
SBA Portfolio Manager/Senior Underwriter
Jonathan O. Jacobs
Private Banker
Veena Jain
Branch Operations Manager
Keith M. Jolliffe
Senior Credit Analyst/Team Leader
Judith Koch
Branch Operations Manager
Jason M. Koenigsberg
Branch Sales Manager
William J. Mellon
Senior Credit Underwriter
Ruth Powell
Branch Operations Manager
Padmaja Racharla
Senior Credit Analyst
Patricia L. Schofield
Branch Operations Manager
Stacy L. Schwartz
Deposit Operations Supervisor
Diane L. Smith
Underwriter
Traci L. Sundberg
Financial Investigations & AML Manager
Sharon A. Unger
Deposit Operations Analyst II
Andrew K. Varsallona
IT Support Specialist
ASSISTANT TREASURERS
Shatha N. Abbasi
Auditor
Thomas P. Bay
Commercial Lending Relationship Manager I
Donna Bencivengo
Executive Assistant and Corporate Secretary
Samantha K. Dayton
Loan Accounting Assistant Manager
Angelique DeGazon
Loan Accounting Specialist
Sharon Grabowski
Loan Accounting
Cynthia Huber
Branch Operations Manager
Cynthia Tigeleiro
Branch Operations Manager
Maria A. Tramo
Operations Coordinator
for Retail & Business Banking
Kelly L. Valenza
Benefits and Payroll Coordinator
Carrie M. Walchko
Bank Secrecy Act Specialist
Michelle Zimmerman
Branch Operations Manager
23
Investment Profile AT 3-5-20
Closing Share Price
Market Capitalization
Price/Earnings (LTM)
Price/Tangible Book
Forward Dividend Yield
52-week High
52-week Low
Average Daily Trading Volume
3 MO AVG
Shares Outstanding
Float
Earnings per Share (diluted)
FOR YEAR ENDED 12-31, $
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Stock Ownership
AT 12-31-19
AT 12-31-19
$9.73
$199.1M
14.1 X
95.7%
1.20%
$11.82
$9.61
24,695
20.5M
15.7M
0.41
0.61
0.48
0.95
0.69
RETAIL 45%
IN SID E 11%
INSTITUTIONAL 44%
24
C O R P O R A T E A N D S H A R E H O L D E R I N F O R M A T I O N
CO RPO RAT E
HE AD QUARTERS
FIRST BANK
2465 Kuser Road
Hamilton, NJ 08690
877 821 2265
firstbanknj.com
A N NUAL SHAREHOLDER
MEET IN G INFORM ATION
The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting
will be held at 10:00 am
on April 29, 2020 at:
The Stone Terrace*
2275 Kuser Road
Hamilton, NJ 08690
IN VESTOR RELATIONS
Shareholders seeking information
about us may obtain press releases
SHAREHOLD ER
ACCOUNT INQUI RI ES
Shareholders who wish to change
the name, address or ownership
of their stock or replace lost
certificates or require additional
services should contact our Stock
Registrar and Transfer Agent.
STOCK REGISTR AR
AND TRANSFER AGENT
FIRST CLASS/REGISTERED/CERTIFIED MAIL
Computershare Investor Services
P.O. Box 505000
Louisville, KY 40233-5000
COURIER SERVICES
Computershare Investor Services
462 South 4th Street, Suite 1600
Louisville, KY 40202
and FDIC filings by visiting
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES NUMBER
firstbanknj.com.Additional inquiries
1 800 368 5948
can be directed to:
Chief Financial Officer
1395 Yardville-Hamilton Square Road
Hamilton, NJ 08691
or by calling 609 643 0136
INVESTOR CENTRE PORTAL
computershare.com/investor
STOCK LISTING
First Bank’s common stock
is traded on the NASDAQ Global
Market under the symbol FRBA.
* Due to the current restrictions on large gatherings of individuals related to the spread
of novel coronavirus, COVID-19, First Bank may need to conduct the 2020 annual meeting
of shareholders virtually. We will provide updates on this matter on the First Bank
web site: www.firstbanknj.com
S A F E - H A R B O R S TAT E M E N T
Note: The foregoing material contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial
condition, results of operations and business of the Bank. We caution that such statements are
subject to a number of uncertainties, including but not limited to those set forth under the caption
“Item 1A – Risk Factors” in the accompanying annual report on Form 10-K, as well as changes
in economic activity in our markets, changes in interest rates and changes in regulation and the
regulatory environment. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties
materialize, or if First Bank's underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ
materially from what First Bank anticipates. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance
on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the
date on which it is made, and First Bank does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or
review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments
or otherwise. All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included in this communication
are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement
should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking
statements that First Bank or persons acting on First Bank's behalf may issue.
First Bank is a member of the FDIC, an Equal
Opportunity Employer and an Equal Housing Lender.
ANALYST COVERAGE
The following analysts published
research on First Bank in 2019:
Nicholas Cucharale
Piper Sandler
212 466 7922
nick.cucharale@psc.com
Joseph Fenech
Hovde Group
312 386 5909
jfenech@hovdegroup.com
25
2 4 6 5 K U S E R R OA D H A M I LTO N , N E W J E R S E Y 0 8 6 9 0 8 7 7. 8 2 1 . B A N K
F I R S T B A N K N J .CO M F I R S T B A N K PA .CO M N A S DAQ : F R B A