Financial Facts
($000's) | 12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | 12/31/2021 | 12/31/2020 | 12/31/2019 | 12/31/2018 |
Total Assets | $327,287 | $279,271 | $225,653 | $205,878 | $161,991 | $149,184 |
Total Capital | $60,506 | $51,780 | $28,876 | $26,895 | $25,866 | $25,062 |
Total Deposits | $270,068 | $232,190 | $196,239 | $177,376 | $135,323 | $123,419 |
Total Loans | $212,222 | $177,629 | $129,164 | $131,771 | $113,829 | $113,942 |
First Vernon Bancshares, Inc. Excessive or Luxury Expenditures Policy
B. Authority
C. Responsibility
E. Excessive or Luxury Expenditures
(1) Entertainment or events. This category includes fees, dues, tickets costs related to social, athletic, artistic and dining clubs, activities, celebrations or other events, and similar expenditures. Expenditures for charitable contributions and charitable events are not prohibited under this policy. Entertainment or events expenditures in an amount less than $50,000 per instance, and $5,000 on an annual aggregate basis per individual, are exempt from this policy.
(2) Office and facility renovations. This category includes costs and allowances for office renovation, including expenditures related to furniture, art, office personalization, interior finishing, design and decoration, and similar expenditures. Office and facility renovations expenditures in an amount less than $250,000 per instance, and $25,000 on an annual aggregate basis per individual, are exempt from this policy.
(3) Aviation or other transportation services. This category includes charter fees, tickets, slip or docking fees, vehicle installment payments, reservation and travel agent expenses, and similar expenditures associated with transportation services (e.g., airline, train, rental cars, or vans). Mileage reimbursable according to current Internal Revenue Service mileage rates is exempt from this policy. Transportation services in an amount less than $25,000 per instance, and $5,000 on an annual aggregate basis per individual, are exempt from this policy.
(4) Tax gross-ups. This category includes any reimbursement of taxes owed with respect to any compensation. This category does not apply to tax equalization agreements for employees subject to tax from a non-U.S. jurisdiction.
(5) Other similar items, activities, or events for which the Organization may reasonably anticipate incurring expenses or reimbursing an employee for incurring expenses. Expenditures related to other items not listed in the preceding categories are exempt from this policy in an amount less than $10,000 per instance, and together with all expenditures permitted under this policy, may not exceed $2,500 on an annual aggregate basis per individual.
For the avoidance of doubt, reasonable capital investments in facilities, technology, equipment, and similar items that expand the long-term capability of an ECIP recipient to provide products and services to its customers and community are not excessive or luxury expenditures.
The principal executive officer may establish or delegate to an appropriate executive officer the authority to establish processes for the evaluation and approval of expenditures in the preceding categories that are not luxury or excessive expenditures and that are not otherwise exempt from this policy. These processes must be reviewed by executive management no less frequently than annually, as well as any additional threshold expenditure amounts per item, activity, or event, or a threshold expenditure amount per employee receiving the item or participating in the activity or event under this policy. Such approvals must be reported to the board of directors (which may be in an appropriate summary form) no less frequently than annually.
F. Exceptions or Violations
Any employee or officer that is aware of any circumstance that may indicate a violation of this policy is required to report such circumstance to their supervisor or the Organization’s principal compliance officer or compliance group. The Organization prohibits retaliation against any employee or officer for making a good faith report of actual or suspected violations of the Organization’s code of conduct, laws, regulations, or other Organization policies, including this policy. A finding of retaliation against any such employee or officer may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Failure to promptly report known violations by others may also be deemed a violation of the Organization’s code of conduct.
Employees and officers may ask questions, raise concerns, or report instances of non- compliance with this policy and/or any of the existing underlying relevant policies by contacting the following: info@bankofvernon.bank.
In accordance with federal laws and U.S. Department of the Treasury policy, this organization is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Director, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20220; call (202) 622-1160; or send an e-mail to: crcomplaints@treasury.gov.
Language Assistance Plan for Limited English Proficient Individuals
Purpose
The mission of First Vernon Bancshares, Inc. and its subsidiary bank, The Bank of Vernon (“Bank”), is to promote community development in its designated Target Market, a group of underserved populations and/or economically distressed communities, through the provision of responsible financial products, financial services, and development services (as defined in 12 CFR Part 1805) to the Target Market, all with a view towards improving the social and economic conditions of the Target Market.
The purpose of this Language Assistance Plan (“LAP”) is to identify our responsibilities for providing Limited English Proficient (“LEP”) individuals with meaningful access to our products and services and to establish effective guidelines, consistent with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for our personnel to follow when providing services to, or interacting with, LEP individuals.
Assessment
As a community bank, we interact with the public on a daily basis, primarily through our website and retail spaces. Using recent U.S. Census Bureau data, we have been able to determine that only 1.08% of the population within our Target Market are LEP individuals, with the predominant language among them being Spanish. As a result, the likelihood of LEP individuals interacting with the Bank is low. This is consistent with our past experience interacting with the public.
Language Assistance Services
Although there is a low volume of LEP individuals in our Target Market, we are committed to improving the accessibility of our products and services to help ensure full participation by LEP individuals. We believe that all consumers, regardless of the language they speak, should have meaningful access to our products and services. As such, we offer the following Language Assistance Services:
- Upon request, and if feasible in light of time or cost restraints, we will provide written translations of our written materials (g., applications, instructional forms, etc.) into Spanish.
- Upon request, and if feasible in light of time or cost restraints, we will utilize a third-party vendor to provide verbal interpretation services to Spanish-speaking LEP individuals. This may include services such as Apple Translate, Google Translate and Microsoft Translate.
The Language Assistance Services discussed above will be provided free of charge, and customers are notified of these offerings through our website as well as written displays in the entry way or lobby of each of our branch locations. In addition, language identification cards will be distributed to frontline staff to be used when interacting with LEP individuals to aid in determining what language assistance services are needed.
Training
We will provide guidance to frontline staff and managers regarding engagement with LEP individuals. We will do this through distribution of our Language Assistance Plan, staff training, and orientation sessions. The staff training and orientation will include instruction on the use of language identification cards to identify LEP individuals as well as how to access and use the third-party vendor translation and interpretation services. In addition, all staff are instructed to be watchful of LEP needs and quickly respond if they need assistance.
Monitoring
We’ve designated a Language Access Coordinator to implement and regularly update our Language Assistance Plan. The Language Access Coordinator will regularly review the U.S. Census Bureau ACS data along with the current Language Assistance Plan to assess the need for updates or changes to the LAP.