Shore Bancshares (SHBI) Risk Analysis

We have deposit and loan customers that are licensed in several states within the United States to do business in the cannabis industry as growers, processors, and dispensaries. While cannabis is legal in these states of operation, it remains classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. As such, the cultivation, use, distribution, and possession of cannabis is a violation of federal law that is punishable by imprisonment and fines. Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in USA v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop. that the federal government has the authority to regulate and criminalize cannabis, including medical marijuana. In January 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") rescinded the "Cole Memo" and related memoranda which characterized the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act against persons and entities complying with state regulatory systems permitting the use, manufacture and sale of medical marijuana as an inefficient use of their prosecutorial resources and discretion. The impact of the DOJ's rescission of the Cole Memo and related memoranda is unclear, but may result in the DOJ increasing its enforcement actions against the regulated cannabis industry generally. However, as of the date of this filing we are not aware of any insured depository institution that has been prosecuted by the DOJ based on providing otherwise lawful banking products and services to the cannabis industry. As in past years, the U.S. Congress has enacted an omnibus spending bill that includes a provision prohibiting the DOJ and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds appropriated by that bill to prevent states from implementing their medical-use cannabis laws. This provision was recently renewed as part of the annual federal Consolidated Appropriations Act. While this provision has been re-enacted every year since 2014, and is expected to continue to be re-enacted in future federal spending bills, if Congress and the President fail to further renew the provision, then the ability of cannabis businesses to act in this area, and the Bank's ability to provide banking products and services to such businesses, may be impeded. Further, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in USA v. McIntosh that this provision prohibits the DOJ from spending funds from relevant appropriations acts to prosecute individuals who engage in conduct permitted by state medical-use cannabis laws and who strictly comply with such laws. There is no guarantee that the U.S. Congress will extend this provision or that U.S. Federal courts located outside the Ninth Circuit will follow the ruling in USA v. McIntosh. As of the date of filing this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are aware of no federal or state court in or for the states in which our customers operate that has addressed the merits of the McIntosh ruling. Federal prosecutors have significant discretion and there can be no assurance that the federal prosecutor for any state in which our customers operate will not choose to strictly enforce the federal laws governing cannabis, including adult-use and medical-use cannabis, or that the federal courts in these states will follow the Ninth Circuit's ruling in USA v. McIntosh. Any change in the federal government's enforcement position could cause us to immediately cease providing banking services to the medical and adult-use cannabis industry in states within the United States. Additionally, as the possession and use of cannabis remains illegal under the Controlled Substances Act, we may be deemed to be aiding and abetting illegal activities through the services that we provide to these customers and could have legal action taken against us by the Federal government, including imprisonment and fines. Any change in the federal government's position on adult-use cannabis enforcement, or a change in federal appropriations law, could result in significant financial damage to us and our stockholders. FinCEN published guidelines in 2014 for financial institutions servicing state legal cannabis business. These guidelines were issued for the explicit purpose so "that financial institutions can provide services to marijuana-related businesses in a manner consistent with their obligations to know their customers and to report possible criminal activity." The Bank has and will continue to follow this and other FinCEN guidance in the areas of cannabis banking. Any adverse change in this FinCEN guidance, any new regulations or legislation, any change in existing regulations or oversight, whether a change in regulatory policy or a change in a regulator's interpretation of a law or regulation, could have a negative impact on our interest income and noninterest income, as well as the cost of our operations, increasing our cost of regulatory compliance and of doing business, and/or otherwise affect us, which may materially affect our profitability.

The operation of our business involves outsourcing of certain business functions and reliance on third-party providers, which may result in transmission and maintenance of personal, confidential and proprietary information to and by such vendors. Although we require third-party providers to maintain certain levels of information security, such providers remain vulnerable to breaches, unauthorized access, misuse, computer viruses or other malicious attacks that could ultimately compromise sensitive information possessed by our company. Although we contract to limit our liability in connection with attacks against third-party providers, we remain exposed to risk of loss associated with such vendors.

The success of our mergers and acquisitions may depend, in part, on the ability to realize the estimated cost savings from combining the acquired businesses with our existing operations. It is possible that the potential cost savings could turn out to be more difficult to achieve than anticipated. The cost savings estimates also depend on the ability to combine the businesses in a manner that permits those cost savings to be realized. If the estimates turn out to be incorrect or there is an inability to combine successfully, the anticipated cost savings may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected.

Our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to use technology to provide products and services that provide convenience to customers and to create additional efficiencies in operations. We may need to make significant additional capital investments in technology in the future, and we may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services.

We rely heavily on communications and information systems to conduct our business. We, our customers, and other financial institutions with which we interact, are subject to ongoing, continuous attempts to penetrate key systems by individual hackers, organized criminals, and in some cases, state-sponsored organizations. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan and other systems, misappropriation of funds, and theft of proprietary Company or customer data. The occurrence of any failure, interruption or security breach of our information systems could damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose us to civil litigation and possible financial liability.

In the event of an economic recession, our operating results could be adversely affected because we could experience higher loan and lease charge-offs and higher operating costs. Global economic conditions also affect our operating results because global economic conditions directly influence the U.S. economic conditions. Sources of global economic and market instability include, but are not limited to, the potential economic slowdown in United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, the impact of trade negotiations, economic conditions in China, including the global economic impacts of the Chinese economy, China's regulation of commerce, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the war in the Middle East and the effects of the recent pandemic or other health crises. Various market conditions also affect our operating results. Certain changes in interest rates, inflation, or the financial markets could affect demand for our products. Real estate market conditions directly affect performance of our loans secured by real estate. Debt markets affect the availability of credit which impacts the rates and terms at which we offer loans and leases. Stock market downturns often signal broader economic deterioration and/or a downward trend in business earnings which may adversely affect businesses' ability to raise capital and/or service their debts. Political and electoral changes, developments, conflicts, and conditions have in the past introduced, and may in the future introduce, additional uncertainty which may also affect our operating results. Our performance could be negatively affected to the extent there is deterioration in business and economic conditions, including persistent inflation, supply chain issues or labor shortages, which have direct or indirect material adverse impacts on us, our customers, and our counterparties. These conditions could result in one or more of the following: - a decrease in the demand for our loans and other products and services offered by us;- a decrease in our deposit balances due to overall reductions in the accounts of customers;- a decrease in the value of collateral securing our loans and leases;- an increase in the level of nonperforming and classified loans and leases;- an increase in provisions for credit losses and loan and lease charge-offs;- a decrease in net interest income derived from our lending and deposit gathering activities;- a decrease in the Company's stock price;- a decrease in our ability to access the capital markets; or - an increase in our operating expenses associated with attending to the effects of certain circumstances listed above. Continued inflation poses risk to the economy overall, and could indirectly pose challenges to our clients and to our business. Elevated inflation can impact our business customers through the loss of purchasing power for their customers, leading to lower sales. Rising inflation can also increase input and inventory costs for our customers, forcing them to raise their prices or lower their profitability. Supply chain disruption, also leading to inflation, can delay our customers' shipping ability, or timing on receiving inputs for their production or inventory. Inflation can lead to higher wages for our business customers, increasing costs. All of these inflationary risks for our business customer base can be financially detrimental, leading to increased likelihood that the customer may default on a loan. In addition, sustained inflationary pressures have resulted in the FRB increasing interest rates by 525 basis points since January 1, 2022 with current federal funds rate range of between 5.25% to 5.50%. To the extent such conditions exist or worsen, we could experience adverse effects on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.