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WSFS Financial

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FY2019 Annual Report · WSFS Financial
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2019 Annual Report

Momentum

1

About WSFS Financial Corporation

WSFS  Financial  Corporation  is  a  multi-billion-dollar 
financial services company. Its primary subsidiary, WSFS 
Bank,  is  the  oldest  and  largest  locally  managed  bank 
and trust company headquartered in Delaware and the 
Delaware Valley. As of December 31, 2019, WSFS Financial 
Corporation  had  $12.3  billion  in  assets  on  its  balance 
sheet and $20.7 billion in assets under management and 
administration.  WSFS  operates  118  offices,  93  of  which 
are  banking  offices,  located  in  Pennsylvania  (55), 
Delaware (45), New Jersey (16), Virginia (1) and Nevada (1), 
and provides comprehensive financial services including 

commercial banking, retail banking, cash management, 
and trust and wealth management. Other subsidiaries or 
divisions  include  Arrow  Land  Transfer,  Cash  Connect®, 
Cypress  Capital  Management,  LLC,  Christiana  Trust 
Company  of  Delaware,  NewLane  Finance,  Powdermill 
Financial  Solutions,  West  Capital  Management,  WSFS 
Institutional Services, WSFS Mortgage, and WSFS Wealth 
Investments. Serving the greater Delaware Valley since 1832, 
WSFS Bank is one of the ten oldest banks in the United 
States  continuously  operating  under  the  same  name. 
For more information, please visit wsfsbank.com.

Our Foundation

MISSION
We Stand For Ser vice®

VISION
We envision a day when everyone says, “I can’t imagine a world without WSFS.”

STRATEGY
Engaged Associates, living our culture, making a better life for all we serve.

VALUES
At WSFS we: 

 Do the right thing • Serve others  
Are welcoming, open and candid • Grow and improve

WSFS Financial Corporation2

Financial Highlights

(Dollars in millions)

At December 31,

Total assets

Net loans, including held for sale

Deposits

Stockholders’ equity

Nonperforming assets to total assets

Number of offices

(Dollars in thousands, except earnings per share data)

For the years ended December 31,

Net income*

Diluted earnings per common share*

Return on average assets*

Return on tangible common equity*

 2019

$  12,256

$  8,508

$  9,587

$  1,850

 2018

 2017

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

7,249

4,889

5,640

821

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

7,000

4,807

5,248

724

0.32%

118

0.66%

76

0.84%

76

 2019

$ 148,809

$ 

3.00

1.30%

13.48%

 2018

$ 134,743

$ 

4.19

1.92%

23.72%

 2017

$  50,244

$ 

1.56

0.74%

9.74%

*Year-over-year comparability impacted by certain one-time items discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K

Core Highlights

(Dollars in thousands, except earnings per share data)

For the years ended December 31,

Adjusted net income**

Diluted earnings per common share**

Return on average assets**

Return on tangible common equity**

**Excludes certain one-time items discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K

 2019

$ 185,104

$ 

3.74

1.61%

16.61%

 2018

$ 114,307

$ 

3.55

1.63%

20.18%

 2017

$  82,841

$ 

2.56

1.21%

15.82%

Net Loan Growth

Deposit Growth

Core Fee Income Growth†

$8,508

$9,587

$4,807

$4,889

$5,248

$5,640

$122.7

$138.0

$161.6

2017

2018

2019

2017

2018

2019

2017

2018

2019

(Dollars in millions)

† Excludes securities gains, and realized/unrealized gains on equity investments

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0

200

150

100

50

0

WSFS Financial Corporation 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3

Letter from Management

Our well-executed integration and brand campaign 
have us tracking better than our original modeling 
and ahead of our Customer retention and 
engagement targets, which is ultimately 
the true test of a bank combination.

Rodger Levenson
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer

Successful Integration

To our Associates, Customers, Owners,  
Community Partners and Friends:

2019 was a landmark year for WSFS. It will always be the 
line in the sand that defined a major step in our growth and 
launched us into the next chapter of our 188-year history. 
Our combination with Beneficial Bank is the cornerstone of 
our 2019–2021 Strategic Plan as it provided us the scale to 
make  a transformational investment in  technology  and 
delivery capabilities. It also gave us the unique and enviable 
market position as the only locally headquartered bank 
with  the  size,  scale,  and  full  service  product  offering  in 
the vibrant Greater Delaware Valley region. 

We were able to integrate Beneficial while still delivering 
very  strong  operating  results. We  achieved  a  full-year 
core  ROA  of  1.61%,  core  ROTCE  of  16.61%,  and 
core  EPS  of  $3.74.  Looking  forward,  we  are  fortunate 
to have significant revenue synergy and organic growth 
opportunities. 2019 has provided us significant momentum 
heading into 2020 and beyond. 

After  more  than  a  year  of  incredibly  hard  work,  we 
successfully  integrated  Beneficial  into  WSFS, 
converting both the brand and technology platforms 
while  onboarding  more  than  600  legacy  Beneficial 
Associates in August 2019. 

I couldn’t have been more pleased with the integration and 
warm reception we’ve received from Greater Philadelphia 
and South Jersey. It has been a pleasure meeting many of 
our Customers and community partners. It is great to hear 
people  all  over  the  area  echoing  our  brand  campaign 
and calling us “Wiss-Fiss.” Our well-executed integration 
and  brand  campaign  have  us  tracking  better  than  our 
original modeling and ahead of our Customer retention 
and  engagement  targets,  which  is  ultimately  the  true 
test of a bank combination.

Continued on Page 4.

2019 Annual ReportOur achievements this year are a direct result of the 
dedication  and  hard  work  of  our  highly  engaged 
Associates.  Integrating  two  companies  is  never  easy, 
especially ones of similar size and scope. In 2019, we were 
named  a  Top  Workplace  in  Philadelphia  and  Delaware. 
Our  2019  Gallup  Associate  Engagement  Survey,  which 
included legacy Beneficial Associates, continues to place 
WSFS  solidly  in  the  Top  Quintile  for  companies  in 
Gallup’s  global  database.  We  were  also  honored  to 
receive  the  Gallup  “Great  Workplace”  Award  for  the 
4th  year  in  a  row,  another  great  reflection  of  bringing 
together two companies successfully. 

2019

Importantly,  WSFS’  expansion  continued  to  benefit  the 
communities we serve. We gave back to our communities, 
both through financial contributions to support community 
partners and through the nearly 27,000 volunteer hours 
of our passionate and community-focused Associates. 
Details  of  these  efforts,  and  more,  can  be  found  in  the 
Commitment to Community section on page 6.

4

Innovation

Innovation  is  not  a  new  concept  at  WSFS.  In  recent 
memory,  WSFS’  innovation  dates  to  the  formation  of 
Cash Connect in the late 90’s. The idea for Cash Connect 
was  sketched  out  on  a  napkin  in  1997,  over  a  cup  of 
coffee  between  Tom  Stevenson,  and  then  CEO,  Skip 
Schoenhals.  Cash  Connect  has  grown  to  become  the 
second-largest  provider  of  ATM  cash  and  logistics 
services  for  approximately  30,000  non-bank  ATMs 
and  remote  cash  capture  units  nationwide,  and  a 
major contributor of fee-income for our Company. 

Since it was formed 20-plus years ago, Cash Connect has 
imbedded a culture of innovation into WSFS’ DNA, which 
spans  far  beyond  our  ATM  business  and  is  now  at  the 
core of everything we do (including several homegrown 
system  applications  from  Cash  Connect  being  used  at 
the Bank). 

After 23 years of service to WSFS and Cash Connect, 
Tom  Stevenson,  founder  and  President  of  Cash 
Connect, retired. Thank you, Tom, for your leadership 
and commitment to service. And thank you to our CFO, 
Dominic  Canuso,  for  assuming  executive  leadership  of 
Cash Connect.

We are also very excited with the growth potential of 
our  new  equipment  finance  business,  NewLane 
Finance.  Experienced  industry  veterans,  Dan  Dyer  and 
George Pelose, joined WSFS to build a nationwide small 
ticket  equipment  leasing  business  with  an  advanced 
technology  platform  and  a  customer-centric  approach. 
NewLane is now in their ramp up phase and is starting to 
gain significant momentum. NewLane will be an important 
component of our lending business for years to come.

WSFS Financial Corporation5

Over the past decade, this spirit of innovation has led to 
our partnerships with fintech companies SoFi, Spring EQ, 
and  Cred.ai.  These  partnerships  have  been  valuable 
from  many  perspectives,  especially  our  learnings 
regarding  the  rapidly  changing  technology  landscape 
and  its  impact  on  Customer  expectations.  These 
experiences  helped  to  inform  our  largest  and  boldest 
investment in innovation—our Delivery Transformation. 

As  part  of  our  vision  for  the  future,  we  committed  to 
investing to transform our technology and delivery systems 
so  that  we  can  continue  to  meet  the  evolving  needs  of 
our  Customers.  We  spent  most  of  2019  assessing  what 
Stellar  Service  feels  like  as  our  physical  and  digital 
channels  meld  closer  together.  In  2020,  we  will  put  our 
vision  into  action,  significantly  increasing  our  overall 
investment,  and  accelerating  the  timeline  of  our  initial 
work to three years. This acceleration is based on the rapid 
evolution of technology in our industry, the opportunity to 
build on our Customer experience platform, drive operational 
efficiencies, and the return on our investment.

Thank You!

I  want  to  again  thank  the  Board  of  Directors  for 
appointing  me  the  Chairman  (refer  to  A  View  From  the 
Boardroom). I am honored by the confidence the Board 
continues to place in me. I especially want to thank Mark 
Turner  for  his  support  and  guidance  as  Executive  Chair 
this  year.  I  look  forward  to  his  continued  support  as  a 
Board Member, mentor, and friend.

Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to our two 
retiring  Directors,  Gerry  Cuddy  and  Pat  Ward,  for 
their  commitment  and  contributions  to  WSFS.  We  are 
fortunate  to  have  Pat  continue  as  our  Pennsylvania 
Market President.

It  is  the  collective  work  of  the  Board  and  my  fellow 
Associates  that  will  set  us  apart  from  our  peers  and 
solidify  our  position  as  the  only  locally  headquartered, 
full-service  community  bank  with  the  size,  scale  and 
offerings to compete with banks of all sizes in the Greater 
Delaware Valley.

On  behalf  of  all  WSFS  Associates  and  your  Executive 
Management  Team,  thank  you  for  your  continuing 
support  and  for  partnering  with  us  to  build  on  the 
momentum that we have created.

Rodger and the Team

To  jump  start  our  Delivery  Transformation,  this  past 
year  we  introduced  several  new  digital  products 
including the person-to-person payment app Zelle® and 
piloting  myWSFS,  a  highly-personalized  messaging 
application,  staffed  by  local  WSFS  bankers.  We  also 
upgraded  wsfsbank.com  to  provide  a  significantly 
enhanced user experience.

All  this  transformation  brings  opportunity  for  our 
Associates. As our industry changes, the skill sets of the 
talent  we  need  will  evolve,  too.  We  will  invest  in  our 
people  and  in  diversifying  our  Company  to  reflect  the 
markets  we  serve.  We  will  continue  to  attract,  engage 
and  retain  the  best  talent  who  are  dedicated  to  our 
Customers and to the communities we serve.

2019 Annual Report6

Commitment to Community

Making a visible and sustainable impact for all we serve 
is  a  top  priority  for  us;  our  community  development 
programs  and  our  Foundations  serve  to  make  that 
happen.  At  WSFS,  we  support  non-profit  organizations 
that  focus  on  education,  health  and  human  services, 
programs for the homeless, and economic development 
and  business  growth.  In  2019,  we  provided  charitable 
giving and sponsorship support to 688 organizations for 
over  $1.2  million.  The  WSFS  Foundation  and  the  WSFS 
Community Foundation provided 146 grants for almost 
$1.5 million to support programs in Delaware, Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey. Finally, our WSFS Associates personally 
contributed  more  than  $220,000  to  the  United  Way. 
They consistently amaze us with their kindness.

The way we look and feel to those outside our Company 
starts with how we live and care inside our Company. 
Our  culture  is  the  heartbeat  of  our  organization  and  is 
based on the fundamental principal of “a really good life.” 
Our strategy: engaged Associates, living our culture, and 
making a better life for all we serve builds upon that principle. 

Our  strategy  fuels  a  virtuous  cycle  and  builds  on  the 
momentum we’ve built: as we do better, our community 
does  better,  and  as  our  community  does  better,  we  do 
better. It’s a simple premise that plays out  in a big way 
every day. And we are all better for it. 

Peggy H. Eddens  
Executive Vice President,  
Chief Associate and  
Customer Experience Officer

Vernita L. Dorsey  
Senior Vice President,  
Director of Community 
Strategy

Since 1832, we’ve been serving our communities. It’s our 
passion  and  our  purpose.  We Stand For Service  is  our 
mission  and  we  live  it  every  day. Our Customers and 
Associates  experience  it  and  our  communities  feel  it. 
We strive to better the lives of those we serve. We do so 
through thoughtful philanthropy efforts and the services 
and products that help our Customers buy a home, educate 
their children, grow their businesses, or plan for retirement. 

We  deeply  care  about  our  communities.  We  roll  up  our 
sleeves  and  open  our  hearts  as  we  partner  with  our 
neighbors  and  friends  to  work  together  to  build  and 
strengthen  the  world  around  us.  As  the  largest,  locally 
headquartered  bank  in  the  Greater  Delaware  Valley,  it’s 
our responsibility and our privilege to support and invest 
in our local neighborhoods. It’s the right thing to do and it 
feels good making a difference for so many across our region.

Our kind and generous Associates are the gift that keeps 
on  giving  to  our  community.  Our  volunteer  program, 
Team WSFS, encourages Associates to volunteer or serve 
on  boards  of  nonprofits.  We  offer  Associates  four 
hours  paid  per  month  to  do  something  good  for 
someone else. Our Associates volunteered a record-
breaking  nearly  27,000  hours  in  2019. As part of that 
effort, we expanded the reach of our financial education 
programs by teaching at many local schools. In 2019, we 
provided  more  than  9,500  hours  of  financial  education 
on topics such as the importance of savings, budgeting 
and  the  responsible  use  of  credit.  We’re  helping  our 
youth learn how to save, to think about spending, to be 
financially  responsible,  and  to  make  good  decisions. 
Our  commitment  to  providing  access  to  financial 
education  is  just  one  of  the  ways  we  are  building  a 
stronger  foundation  for  future  generations  throughout 
our communities. 

WSFS Financial CorporationNew York

7

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

Wilmington

New Jersey

Baltimore

Washington, DC

Maryland

Delaware

2019 Annual ReportNew YorkWashington, D.C.NYCTVTMAMENHRIVAPhiladelphiaBaltimoreDENJPAMD8

A View from the Boardroom—Volume VIII

We’ve had a history of thoughtful leadership transitions, 
and based on all measures, this one too has gone 
exceptionally well.

Eleuthère I. du Pont
Lead Independent Director

Dear fellow WSFS Owners:

It has been an honor and privilege to be part of WSFS 
as  it  enters  its  188th  year.  As  we  continue  to  earn  the 
right to be independent, the last 16 months has been a 
period  of  significant  growth  and  development  for  the 
Company  and  all  its  trusted  Associates,  Customers, 
Shareholders  and  members  of  the  Board.  As  we  look 
back,  we  can  see  that  some  of  the  Bank’s  evolutions 
were incremental, while others have been transformative. 
In the early 1990’s, the changes led by C.G. Cheleden and 
Skip Schoenhals were daunting, but ultimately revitalized 
our mission. Similarly, our focus on a disciplined growth 
strategy  coming  out  of  the  Great  Recession  led  to 
significant  out-performance  over  the  last  generation  of 
leadership under then CEO, Mark Turner. During the past 
16  months,  the  transformation  we  started  is  another 
significant  milestone  as  we  carefully  orchestrated,  and 
successfully  executed,  an  integration  to  become  a 
$12  billion-plus  organization  and  developed  a  digital 
transformation  strategy,  all  while  making  important 
changes in the senior leadership team and boardroom. 

One  significant  and  thoughtfully  planned  change  was 
the  retirement  of  Mark  Turner  and  the  transition  to  our 
new talented CEO, Rodger Levenson. We’ve had a history 
of  thoughtful  leadership  transitions,  and  based  on  all 
measures, this one has gone exceptionally well. While we 
will  miss  Mark’s  experienced  hand  at  the  helm  as 
Executive Chair, he continues to provide great wisdom to 
the Board, and mentoring for Rodger. 

The  Board  of  Directors  could  not  be  more  pleased 
with  Rodger’s  first  year  as  CEO.  We  achieved  a  full-
year  core  ROA  of  1.61%  and  core  EPS  of  $3.74. 
More  significantly,  Rodger  and  his  team  successfully 
completed  the  integration  of  Beneficial  Bank’s  brand 
and  technology  systems.  And  several  weeks  after 
integrating  the  two  companies,  we  conducted  our 
annual Gallup Associate Engagement survey. The results 
of  the  combined  team  placed  us  solidly  in  the  86th 
percentile of their worldwide database—which means 
we are a top workplace not only nationally, but globally. 
This is indicative of a highly engaged and cohesive team. 
Rodger,  and  our  leadership  team,  are  hard  at  work 
preparing  for  the  next  phase  of  the  WSFS  brand, 
experience,  and  culture—one  that  is  centered  on  our 
Associates, and on new technology and delivery channels 
so we can continue to deliver the world class service our 
Customers expect from us.

At the end of 2019, Mark decided to focus on his next 
professional  opportunity  and  stepped  aside  as 
Executive Chair. We are thrilled for Mark and grateful 
that he will continue as a member of the Board. At the 
time  of  transition,  the  Board  carefully  considered 
whether  to  combine  the  roles  of  Chair  and  CEO. 
After much discussion and deliberation, we decided that 
combining the roles was the best way to implement the 
Strategic Plan of WSFS. With significant cultural integration 
and technology evolution happening in financial services, 
we believe it best to have a single point of leadership to 
drive WSFS forward.

WSFS Financial Corporation9

Upon  their  retirements,  our  Board  will  return  to 
11  members.  As  you  see,  we  advocate  for  continually 
monitoring and assessing the needs of WSFS and reflect 
that in our membership in the boardroom. We find that 
continual refreshment of directorship brings new ideas, 
perspective, and knowledge. Simultaneously, we recognize 
that long term Directors bring deep institutional knowledge 
and help maintain the culture of the organization. We seek 
a Board that is roughly one third long tenure (12 or more 
years),  one  third  medium  tenure  (6-12  years),  and  one 
third shorter tenure (less than 6 years). While it’s difficult 
to be precise about these metrics, they provide thoughtful 
guidelines  as  we  consider  renewal  of  our  membership 
each year.

Finally,  we  are  sometimes  asked  about  our  classified 
Board.  We  recognize  that  it  is  less  and  less  usual  in 
today’s governance environment. However, as we have 
said before, we put long term returns for our Owners 
at  the  top  of  our  financial  targets.  We  want  to  align 
ourselves  with  a  set  of  Shareholders  who  also  think  in 
periods  of  multiple  years,  not  multiple  quarters 
(or sometimes just the next quarter). Therefore, while we 
recognize that it would take 13 months to turn over most 
of the Board seats, should our Owners wish to do so, we 
believe that matches well with the timeline of the WSFS 
Owner. We welcome direct dialog with our Shareholders 
on this topic or others.

Continued on Page 10.

That said, we recognize that optimal Board performance 
requires a significant parallel role in the Lead Director. 
I will continue as Lead Director and preside over regular 
Board  sessions  involving  only  independent  Directors 
and offer advice and guidance to Rodger during this time 
of transition. In addition, as Lead Director, I will continue to 
engage our Board in regular conversations about our Board 
structure, core competencies and, succession planning. 

With  respect  to  Board  changes,  in  March  of  2019,  we 
added  three  Directors  from  Beneficial  to  our  Board: 
Karen  Buchholz,  Gerry  Cuddy,  and  Michael  Donahue. 
Separately,  each  brings  valuable  experience  and 
perspective to the Board. Collectively, they have added 
breadth and further developed the culture of the Board. 
While  we  have  benefitted  significantly  from  their  input, 
we believe that a Board of 10-11 members is optimal and 
we will only exceed that for a few years until we transition 
back to scale.

In that spirit, in April of this year, we have two more 
significant  transitions  occurring.  Pat  Ward  and  Gerry 
Cuddy will not be standing for re-election to the Board. 
Their  experience  and  wisdom  will  be  greatly  missed  in 
the  boardroom.  Each  has  been  essential  to  our  growth 
by  building  great  organizations  and  bringing  specific 
market  knowledge  into  WSFS.  The  success  of  Penn 
Liberty, its Associates, and its relationships significantly 
accelerated  our  growth  in  Southeastern  Pennsylvania, 
particularly  the  demographically  rich  Chester  and 
Montgomery  counties.  Without  the  scale,  Customers, 
Associates, and history of Beneficial, WSFS would not be 
positioned  as  the  premier  bank  with  local  decision 
makers  in  the  Greater  Philadelphia  region.  Pat  will 
continue with his leadership role as Pennsylvania Market 
President and we look forward to his able contributions 
there.  Gerry  is  retiring  from  the  Bank  after  more  than 
30 years in the industry and 13 years as CEO of Beneficial. 
We  are  grateful  for  his  many  years  of  service  and  wish 
him well in the future.

2019 Annual Report1 0

While  WSFS  stock  performance  improved  in  2019,  it 
lagged  all  of  the  comparison  groups.  Three  year  Total 
Shareholder  Returns*  also  underperformed.  However, 
five year returns were superior to all comparison groups 
and ten year returns were more than double all of the 
bank comparison groups. We consider the short term an 
investment  in  the  long  term  and  will  look  to  reap  the 
benefits of those investments in the years to come.

On  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  thank  you  for  your 
continued  interest  and  support  of  WSFS.  We  are 
confident  that  we  are  well  positioned  to  build  on  the 
momentum of 2019 as we head into the future.

Sincerely,

Your WSFS Board of Directors

Company Performance

As we have stated consistently for many years, we focus 
on  both  long-term  results  and  achieving  sustainable 
high  performance,  which  is  defined  as  top-quintile 
performance, or top 20%, in our peer group in ROA and 
ROTCE.  This  is  our  goal  regardless  of  peer  size  and 
through  economic  cycles.  In  fact,  75%  of  the  Executive 
Management  team’s  annual  performance-based 
incentive compensation, and 100% of the CEO’s, is based 
on  achieving  our  annual  high-performance  metrics, 
along  with  a  third  metric,  EPS  growth.  We  believe  this 
aligns Management’s goals with our Shareholders. 

Our  comparison  point  for  achieving  sustainable  high-
performance  has  changed  in  recent  history,  as  our 
growth in asset size has placed us in larger peer groups. 
For  21  years,  since  1994,  we  were  included  in  the 
$1  billion  to  $5  billion  peer  group  until  we  crossed  into 
the $5 billion to $10 billion peer group in 2016. Now after 
four  years,  we  are  in  the  $10  billion  to  $50  billion  peer 
group.  With  each  increase  in  asset  size  peer  group,  the 
bar is raised for higher returns. At the same time, there 
has been an increase in regulatory costs and a need to 
significantly  invest  in  technology  to  improve  the 
Customer  experience.  However,  the  benefits  of  being 
larger—including  scale,  revenue  synergies,  fee  income 
diversification,  and  disciplined  cost  management—are 
expected  to  outweigh  the  increases  in  costs  and 
ultimately deliver higher returns.

The  opportunity  resulting  from  our  combination 
with  Beneficial,  along  with  the  investments 
Management  is  making  in  Delivery  Transformation, 
demonstrate the combined philosophy of delivering 
sustainable  high-performance  and  maintaining  a 
long-term orientation. 

Total Shareholder Return

WSFS 
Bank

17.33%

-2.56%

78.89%

465.84%

NASDAQ 
Bank Index

KBW Bank 
Index

SNL US Banks 
> $10B

24.38%

9.95%

65.11%

197.72%

36.13% 

32.84%

71.55%

225.81%

36.27%

34.34%

69.22%

201.90%

1 year

3 year

5 year

10 year

S&P 500 
Index

31.48%

53.14%

73.80%

256.39%

*Calculated consistently as compared to up to seven other relevant indexes, as discussed in detail in prior Board letters; which can be seen at:  
investors.wsfsbank.com/financial-information

WSFS Financial Corporation 
1 1

Board of Directors

Many thanks to
Gerry Cuddy and Patrick Ward as they retire from the Board.  
We appreciate your invaluable insights and experience on the WSFS Board. 

Gerard P. Cuddy
Vice Chairman, WSFS Bank 
Former President & CEO  
Beneficial Bank

Patrick J. Ward 
Executive Vice President, 
Pennsylvania Market President, 
WSFS Financial Corporation  
and WSFS Bank

Anat Bird 
President & CEO  
SCB Forums, Ltd.

Francis B. Brake 
Chair, Integration and Delivery 
Transformation Subcommittee 
and Trust and Corporate 
Development Committees 
President, Epic Research, LLC

Karen Dougherty 
Buchholz
Senior Vice President, 
Administration  
Comcast Corporation

Jennifer Wagner Davis 
Executive Vice President  
& Chief Operating Officer 
University of Virginia 

Michael J. Donahue
Advisory Partner,  
NewSpring Capital 
Former Chief Operating Officer, 
KPMG Consulting, Inc. 

Eleuthère I. du Pont
Lead Independent Director,  
Chair, Corporate Governance 
and Nominating Committee  
President, The Longwood 
Foundation

Christopher T. Gheysens
Chair, Audit and  
Trust Audit Committees, 
President & CEO  
Wawa, Inc.

Rodger Levenson
Chairman, President & CEO  
WSFS Financial Corporation  
and WSFS Bank

Marvin N. Schoenhals 
Former Chairman, 
President & CEO WSFS Financial 
Corporation and WSFS Bank

David G. Turner
Chair, Personnel and  
Compensation Committee  
Vice President & Partner  
North America Financial Services 
IBM Global Business Services 

Mark A. Turner 
Former Executive Chairman, 
President & CEO WSFS Financial 
Corporation and WSFS Bank

2019 Annual Report1 2

2019 at a glance

WSFS Financial CorporationForward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report contains estimates, predictions, opinions, projections and other “forward-looking statements” as that phrase is defined in the Private Securities Litigation 
Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, without limitation, references to the Company’s predictions or expectations of future business or financial performance as well 
as its goals and objectives for future operations, financial and business trends, business prospects and management’s outlook or expectations for earnings, revenues, 
expenses, capital levels, liquidity levels, asset quality or other future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” 
“plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “project” and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on 
various assumptions (some of which may be beyond the Company’s control) and are subject to risks and uncertainties (which change over time) and other factors which could 
cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: difficult market conditions and unfavorable 
economic trends in the United States generally, and particularly in the markets in which the Company operates and in which its loans are concentrated, including declines in 
housing markets, an increase in unemployment levels and slowdowns in economic growth; the Company’s level of nonperforming assets and the costs associated with 
resolving problem loans including litigation and other costs; possible additional loan losses and impairment of the collectability of loans; changes in market interest rates, 
which may increase funding costs and reduce earning asset yields and thus reduce margin; the impact of changes in interest rates and the credit quality and strength of 
underlying collateral and the effect of such changes on the market value of the Company’s investment securities portfolio; the credit risk associated with the substantial 
amount of commercial real estate, construction and land development and commercial and industrial loans in our loan portfolio; the extensive federal and state regulation, 
supervision and examination governing almost every aspect of the Company’s operations including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the 
Dodd-Frank Act), the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (which amended the Dodd-Frank Act), and the rules and regulations issued in 
accordance  therewith  and  potential  expenses  associated  with  complying  with  such  regulations;  the  Company’s  ability  to  comply  with  applicable  capital  and  liquidity 
requirements (including the finalized Basel III capital standards and the effect of our transition to the Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) methodology for allowances and 
related adjustments), including our ability to generate liquidity internally or raise capital on favorable terms; possible changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies, laws and 
regulations and other activities of governments, agencies, and similar organizations; any impairments of the Company’s goodwill or other intangible assets; conditions in the 
financial markets that may limit the Company’s access to additional funding to meet its liquidity needs; the intention of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority 
(FCA) to cease support of London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the transition to an alternative reference interest rate; the success of the Company’s growth plans, 
including our plans to grow the commercial small business leasing portfolio and residential mortgage, small business and Small Business Administration (SBA) portfolios 
following our acquisition of Beneficial Bancorp, Inc. (Beneficial); the successful integration of acquisitions; the Company’s ability to fully realize the cost savings and other 
benefits of its acquisitions, manage risks related to business disruption following those acquisitions, and post-acquisition customer acceptance of the Company’s products 
and services and related customer disintermediation; negative perceptions or publicity with respect to the Company’s trust and wealth management business; failure of the 
financial and operational controls of the Company’s Cash Connect® division; adverse judgments or other resolution of pending and future legal proceedings, and cost incurred 
in defending such proceedings; our reliance on third parties for certain important functions, including the operation of our core systems; system failures or cybersecurity 
incidents or other breaches of the Company’s network security; the Company’s ability to recruit and retain key employees; the effects of problems encountered by other 
financial institutions that adversely affect the Company or the banking industry generally; the effects of weather and natural disasters such as floods, droughts, wind, 
tornadoes and hurricanes as well as effects from geopolitical instability and man-made disasters including terrorist attacks; possible changes in the speed of loan prepayments 
by the Company’s customers and loan origination or sales volumes; possible changes in the speed of prepayments of mortgage-backed securities due to changes in the 
interest rate environment, and the related acceleration of premium amortization on prepayments in the event that prepayments accelerate; regulatory limits on the Company’s 
ability  to  receive  dividends  from  its  subsidiaries  and  pay  dividends  to  its  stockholders;  litigation  and  other  risks  and  uncertainties,  including  those  discussed  in  other 
documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time; and any reputation, credit, interest rate, market, operational, legal, 
liquidity, regulatory and compliance risk resulting from developments related to any of the risks discussed above.

These risks and uncertainties and other risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition or future prospects are 
discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the heading “Risk Factors,” and in other documents filed by the Company with the SEC. We caution readers not 
to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company disclaims any duty to revise or update any 
forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company for any reason, except as specifically required by law.

Stockholder Information

Stockholders or others seeking information regarding the Company may call or write:

WSFS Financial Corporation  
Investor Relations
WSFS Bank Center
500 Delaware Avenue
Wilmington, DE 19801
302-504-9857
stockholderrelations@wsfsbank.com

Transfer Agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC
6201 15th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11219 

Website
wsfsbank.com

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