Stellar Bancorp Stock

Stellar Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Stellar Bank that provides a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small- to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual customers within its markets.

The company refers to the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area (‘MSA’), as the Houston region (‘Houston region’) and the Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA, as the Beaumont region (‘Beaumont region’).

The company operates full-service banking centers in the Houston region, Beaumont region and in Dallas, Texas, which the company collectively refers to as its markets.

Business Strategy

The company’s community banking strategy is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. This strategy presents a significant market advantage for serving small- to medium-sized business customers and further enables the company to attract talented bankers.

The company is a leading provider of customized commercial banking services to small- and medium-sized business in the company’s markets by providing superior customer service and by leveraging the strength and capabilities of local management.

The company’s community banking strategy leverages local delivery of the stellar customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. The company operates full-service banking centers and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the banking center level. The company supports banking center operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight.

Community Banking Services

Lending Activities

The company offers a wide range of commercial and retail lending services, including commercial loans, loans to small businesses guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (the ‘SBA’), mortgage loans, home equity loans, personal loans and automobile loans, among others, specifically designed for small- to medium-sized businesses and companies, professionals and individuals generally located within Texas and primarily in the company’s markets. The company also offers factoring services through American Prudential Capital, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank.

Deposit Products

Deposits are the company’s principal source of funds for use in lending and other general banking purposes. The company offers a variety of deposit products and services with the goal of attracting a wide variety of customers, with an emphasis on small- to medium-sized businesses. The types of deposit accounts that the company offers are typical of most commercial banks and consist of checking accounts, commercial accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts and other time deposits of various types and terms. The company actively pursues business checking accounts by offering the company’s business customers competitive rates and convenient services, such as telephone, mobile and online banking. The company’s deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the ‘FDIC’) to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Other Banking Services

The company offers basic banking products and services, which are attractively priced, easily understood, convenient and readily accessible to the company’s customers. In addition to banking during normal business hours, the company offers extended drive-through hours, ATMs, mobile banking and banking by telephone, mail and Internet. Customers can conveniently access their accounts by phone, through a mobile application for smartphones and tablets, as well as through Internet banking that allows customers to obtain account balances, make deposits, transfer funds, pay bills online and receive electronic delivery of statements. The company also provides safe deposit boxes, debit cards, cash management and wire transfer services, night depository, direct deposits, cashier’s checks and letters of credit. The company has established relationships with correspondent banks and other independent financial institutions to provide other services requested by customers, including loan participations sold when the requested loan amount exceeds the lending limits in the company’s lending policies.

Securities Portfolio

As of December 31, 2022, the company’s securities included U.S. government and agency securities; municipal securities; agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities; agency collateralized mortgage obligations; and corporate bonds and other securities.

Regulation and Supervision

As a bank holding company, the company is regulated under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (‘BHC Act’), and it and its subsidiaries are subject to inspection, examination and supervision by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (‘Federal Reserve’). As a bank holding company of a Texas state chartered bank, the company is also subject to supervision, regulation, examination and enforcement by the Texas Department of Banking (‘TDB’) and the FDIC.

The bank is a Texas-chartered banking association, the deposits of which are insured by the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund. up to applicable legal limits. The bank is not a member of the Federal Reserve System; therefore, the bank is subject to ongoing and comprehensive supervision, regulation, examination and enforcement by the TDB and the FDIC.

The deposits of the bank are insured by the FDIC up to applicable limits.

The company is subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that extensively govern its relationship with the company’s customers. These laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act and these laws’ respective state-law counterparts, as well as state usury laws and laws regarding unfair and deceptive acts and practices.

The bank received an overall CRA rating of ‘satisfactory’ on its most recent CRA examination.

History

Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2007.