NOTE 1 - BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The consolidated financial statements of Middlefield Banc Corp. ("Company") include its bank subsidiary, The Middlefield Banking Company (“MBC” or “Middlefield Bank”), and a nonbank asset resolution subsidiary EMORECO, Inc. All significant inter-company items have been eliminated.

The accompanying unaudited financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In management’s opinion, the financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, that the Company considers necessary to fairly state the Company’s financial position and the results of operations and cash flows. The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017, has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the necessary informational disclosures and footnotes as required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The accompanying financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included with the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. The results of the Company’s operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative for the results of the Company’s operations for any other interim period or for a full fiscal year.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements –

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The standard requires lessees to recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases on the balance sheet.  A lessee should recognize in the statement of financial position a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term.  A short-term lease is defined as one in which (a) the lease term is 12 months or less and (b) there is not an option to purchase the underlying asset that the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise. For short-term leases, lessees may elect to recognize lease payments over the lease term on a straight-line basis. For public business entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those years. For all other entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The amendments should be applied at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach with earlier application permitted as of the beginning of an interim or annual reporting period. The Company is currently assessing the practical expedients it may elect at adoption, but does not anticipate the amendments will have a significant impact on the financial statements. Based on the Company’s preliminary analysis of its current portfolio, the impact to the Company’s balance sheet is estimated to result in less than a 1 percent increase in assets and liabilities. The Company also anticipates additional disclosures to be provided at adoption.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“CECL”), which changes the impairment model for most financial assets. This Update is intended to improve financial reporting by requiring timelier recording of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments held by financial institutions and other organizations. The underlying premise of the Update is that financial assets measured at amortized cost should be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, through an allowance for credit losses that is deducted from the amortized cost basis. The allowance for credit losses should reflect management’s current estimate of credit losses that are expected to occur over the remaining life of a financial asset. The income statement will be effected for the measurement of credit losses for newly recognized financial assets, as well as the expected increases or decreases of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period. ASU 2016-13 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018. With certain exceptions, transition to the new requirements will be through a cumulative effect adjustment to opening retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Management will oversee the implementation of CECL and is currently in the process of implementing a software solution to assist in the adoption of this ASU. Management plans to run the current incurred loss model and the CECL model concurrently for 12 months prior to the adoption of this guidance on January 1, 2020.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-03, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10), to clarify certain aspects of the guidance issued in ASU 2016-01. (1) An entity measuring an equity security using the measurement alternative may change its measurement approach to a fair value method in accordance with Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, through an irrevocable election that would apply to that security and all identical or similar investments of the same issuer. Once an entity makes this election, the entity should measure all future purchases of identical or similar investments of the same issuer using a fair value method in accordance with Topic 820. (2) Adjustments made under the measurement alternative are intended to reflect the fair value of the security as of the date that the observable transaction for a similar security took place. (3) Re-measuring the entire value of forward contracts and purchased options is required when observable transactions occur on the underlying equity securities. (4) When the fair value option is elected for a financial liability, the guidance in paragraph 825-10- 45-5 should be applied, regardless of whether the fair value option was elected under either Subtopic 815-15, Derivatives and Hedging—Embedded Derivatives, or 825-10, Financial Instruments—Overall. (5) Financial liabilities for which the fair value option is elected, the amount of change in fair value that relates to the instrument specific credit risk should first be measured in the currency of denomination when presented separately from the total change in fair value of the financial liability. Then, both components of the change in the fair value of the liability should be re-measured into the functional currency of the reporting entity using end-of-period spot rates. (6) The prospective transition approach for equity securities without a readily determinable fair value in the amendments in Update 2016-01 is meant only for instances in which the measurement alternative is applied. An insurance entity subject to the guidance in Topic 944, Financial Services— Insurance, should apply a prospective transition method when applying the amendments related to equity securities without readily determinable fair values. An insurance entity should apply the selected prospective transition method consistently to the entity’s entire population of equity securities for which the measurement alternative is elected. For public business entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2018. Public business entities with fiscal years beginning between December 15, 2017, and June 15, 2018, are not required to adopt these amendments until the interim period beginning after June 15, 2018, and public business entities with fiscal years beginning between June 15, 2018, and December 15, 2018, are not required to adopt these amendments before adopting the amendments in Update 2016-01. For all other entities, the effective date is the same as the effective date in Update 2016-01. All entities may early adopt these amendments for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years, as long as they have adopted Update 2016-01. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of the standard will have on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

ASU 2018-04, Investments – Debt Securities (Topic 320) and Regulated Operations (Topic 980) - Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 117 and SEC Release No. 33-9273, ASU 2018-04 supersedes various SEC paragraphs and adds an SEC paragraph pursuant to the issuance of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 117.

NOTE 2 – REVENUE RECOGNITION

Effective January 1, 2017, the Company adopted ASU 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers-Topic 606 and all subsequent ASUs that modified ASC 606. The implementation of the new standard had no material impact to the measurement or recognition of revenue of prior periods and did not require any cumulative effect adjustment for adoption.

Management determined that the primary sources of revenue, which emanate from interest income on loans and investments, along with noninterest revenue resulting from investment security gains, gains on the sale of loans, and BOLI income, are not within the scope of ASC 606. As a result, no changes were made during the period related to these sources of revenue, which cumulatively comprise 93.4% of the total revenue of the Company.

The main types of noninterest income within the scope of the standard are as follows:

Service charges on deposit accounts – The Company has contracts with its deposit customers where fees are charged if the account balance falls below predetermined levels defined as compensating balances. These agreements can be cancelled at any time by either the Company or the deposit customer. Revenue from these transactions is recognized on a monthly basis as the Company has an unconditional right to the fee consideration. The Company also has transaction fees related to specific transactions or activities resulting from a customer request or activity that include overdraft fees, online banking fees, and other transaction fees. All of these fees are attributable to specific performance obligations of the Company where the revenue is recognized at a defined point in time, which is completion of the requested service/transaction.

Gains (losses) on sale of other real estate owned – Gains and losses are recognized at the completion of the property sale when the buyer obtains control of the real estate and all of the performance obligations of the Company have been satisfied. Evidence of the buyer obtaining control of the asset include transfer of the property title, physical possession of the asset, and the buyer obtaining control of the risks and rewards related to the asset. In situations where the Company agrees to provide financing to facilitate the sale, additional analysis is performed to ensure that the contract for sale identifies the buyer and seller, the asset to be transferred, payment terms, and that the contract has a true commercial substance and that collection of amounts due from the buyer is reasonable. In situations where financing terms are not reflective of current market terms, the transaction price is discounted impacting the gain/loss and the carrying value of the asset.

The following table depicts the disaggregation of revenue derived from contracts with customers to depict the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows for the three months ended March 31:

NOTE 3 - STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company had no unvested stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Stock option activity during the three months ended March 31 is as follows:

The following table presents the activity during the three months ended March 31, 2018 related to awards of restricted stock:

Share-based compensation expense of $55,000 and $48,000 was recognized for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The expected remaining compensation expense that will be recognized on restricted stock totals $199,000, of which $127,000 will be recognized in 2018 and $72,000 will be recognized in 2019.

NOTE 4 - EARNINGS PER SHARE

The Company provides dual presentation of basic and diluted earnings per share. Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the average shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share adds the dilutive effects of stock options to average shares outstanding.

The following table sets forth the composition of the weighted-average common shares (denominator) used in the basic and diluted earnings per share computation.

Options to purchase 18,250 shares of common stock, at prices ranging from $17.55 to $23.00, were outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2018. Also outstanding were 14,601 shares of restricted stock. None of the outstanding options or restricted stock were anti-dilutive.

Options to purchase 27,762 shares of common stock, at prices ranging from $17.55 to $37.48, were outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2017. Also outstanding were 15,800 shares of restricted stock. None of the outstanding options or restricted stock were anti-dilutive.

NOTE 5 - FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for an asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP established a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the use of inputs used in valuation methodologies into the following levels:

The following tables present the assets measured on a recurring basis on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at their fair value by level within the fair value hierarchy. Financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Investment Securities Available for Sale - The Company obtains fair values from an independent pricing service which represent quoted prices for similar assets, fair values determined by pricing models using a market approach that considers observable market data, such as interest rate volatilities, LIBOR yield curve, credit spreads and prices from market makers and live trading systems (Level II).

Equity Securities - Equity securities that are traded on a national securities exchange are valued at their last reported sales price as of the measurement date. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets and listed securities for which no sale was reported on that date are generally valued at their last reported “bid” price if held long, and last reported “ask” price if sold short. To the extent equity securities are actively traded and valuation adjustments are not applied, they are categorized in Level I of the fair value hierarchy. Equity securities traded on inactive markets or valued by reference to similar instruments are generally categorized in Level II of the fair value hierarchy. Equity securities are carried at fair value through net income at March 31, 2018.

Impaired Loans – The Company has measured impairment on collateral-dependent impaired loans generally based on the fair value of the loan’s collateral. Fair value is generally determined based upon independent third-party appraisals of the properties. In some cases, management may adjust the appraised value due to the age of the appraisal, changes in market conditions, or observable deterioration of the property since the appraisal was completed. Additionally, management makes estimates about expected costs to sell the property which are also included in the net realizable value. If the fair value of the collateral-dependent loan is less than the carrying amount of the loan, a specific reserve for the loan is made in the allowance for loan losses or a charge-off is taken to reduce the loan to the fair value of the collateral (less estimated selling costs) and the loan is included in the following table as a Level III measurement. If the fair value of the collateral exceeds the carrying amount of the loan, then the loan is not included in the following table as it is not currently being carried at its fair value. The fair values in the following table exclude estimated selling costs of $573,000 at March 31, 2018.

Other Real Estate Owned (OREO) – OREO is carried at the lower of cost or fair value, which is measured at the date of foreclosure. If the fair value of the collateral exceeds the carrying amount of the loan, no charge-off or adjustment is necessary, the loan is not considered to be carried at fair value, and is therefore not included in the following table. If the fair value of the collateral is less than the carrying amount of the loan, management will charge the loan down to its estimated realizable value. The fair value of OREO is based on the appraised value of the property, which is generally unadjusted by management and is based on comparable sales for similar properties in the same geographic region as the subject property, and is included in the following table as a Level II measurement. In some cases, management may adjust the appraised value due to the age of the appraisal, changes in market conditions, or observable deterioration of the property since the appraisal was completed. In these cases, the loans are categorized in the following table as Level III measurement since these adjustments are considered to be unobservable inputs. Income and expenses from operations and further declines in the fair value of the collateral subsequent to foreclosure are included in net expenses from OREO.

The following tables present the assets measured on a nonrecurring basis on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at their fair value by level within the fair value hierarchy. Collateral-dependent impaired loans are carried at fair value if they have been charged down to fair value or if a specific valuation allowance has been established. A new cost basis is established at the time a property is initially recorded in OREO. OREO properties are carried at fair value if a devaluation has been taken to the property’s value subsequent to the initial measurement.

The following tables present additional quantitative information about assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis and for which the Company uses Level III inputs to determine fair value:

The estimated fair value of the Company’s financial instruments not recorded at fair value on a recurring basis is as follows:

NOTE 6 – ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

The following tables present the changes in accumulated other comprehensive income by component net of tax for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively:

The following tables present significant amounts reclassified from or to each component of accumulated other comprehensive income:

NOTE 7 – INVESTMENT AND EQUITY SECURITIES

The amortized cost and fair values of investment securities are as follows:

The following table presents the carrying amount of the Company’s equity investments without readily determinable fair values the annual and cumulative amount of impairment, and the annual and cumulative amount of observable price changes for orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer:

The following table presents the net gains and losses on the Company’s equity investments recognized in earnings during the three months ended March 31, 2018, and the portion of unrealized gains and losses for the period that relates to equity investments held at March 31, 2018.

The amortized cost and fair value of debt securities at March 31, 2018, by contractual maturity, are shown below. Expected maturities will differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

Proceeds from the sales of investment securities and the gross realized gains and losses are as follows:

⁽¹⁾ Prior to the acquisition of Liberty Bank, N.A., the Company had a previously held equity interest in Liberty which was re-measured at fair value on the acquisition date and resulted in a gain of $488,000, which was recorded in Equity Securities, Unrealized Gains on the consolidated Income Statement for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Investment securities with an approximate carrying value of $61.7 million and $57.9 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, were pledged to secure deposits and other purposes as required by law.

The following tables show the Company’s gross unrealized losses and fair value, aggregated by investment category and length of time that the individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position.

There were 82 securities considered temporarily impaired at March 31, 2018.

On a quarterly basis, the Company performs an assessment to determine whether there have been any events or economic circumstances indicating that a security with an unrealized loss has suffered other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”). A debt security is considered impaired if the fair value is less than its amortized cost basis at the reporting date. The Company assesses whether the unrealized loss is other than temporary.

OTTI losses are recognized in earnings when the Company has the intent to sell the debt security or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis. However, even if the Company does not expect to sell a debt security, it must evaluate expected cash flows to be received and determine if a credit loss has occurred.

An unrealized loss is generally deemed to be other than temporary and a credit loss is deemed to exist if the present value of the expected future cash flows is less than the amortized cost basis of the debt security. As a result, the credit loss of an OTTI is recorded as a component of investment securities gains (losses) in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Income, while the remaining portion of the impairment loss is recognized in other comprehensive income, provided the Company does not intend to sell the underlying debt security and it is “more likely than not” that the Company will not have to sell the debt security prior to recovery.

Debt securities issued by U.S. government agencies, U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, and state and political subdivisions accounted for 100% of the total available-for-sale portfolio as of March 31, 2018 and no credit losses are expected, given the explicit and implicit guarantees provided by the U.S. federal government and the lack of prolonged unrealized loss positions within the obligations of state and political subdivisions security portfolio. The Company considers the following factors in determining whether a credit loss exists and the period over which the debt security is expected to recover:

For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, there were no available-for-sale debt securities with an unrealized loss that suffered OTTI. Management does not believe any individual unrealized loss as of March 31, 2018 or December 31, 2017 represented an other-than-temporary impairment. The unrealized losses on debt securities are primarily the result of interest rate changes. These conditions will not prohibit the Company from receiving its contractual principal and interest payments on these debt securities. The fair value of these debt securities is expected to recover as payments are received on these securities and they approach maturity. Should the impairment of any of these securities become other than temporary, the cost basis of the investment will be reduced and the resulting loss recognized in net income in the period the other-than-temporary impairment is identified.

NOTE 8 - LOANS AND RELATED ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN AND LEASE LOSSES

Major classifications of loans are summarized as follows (in thousands):

The amounts above include deferred loan origination costs of $1.5 million at both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017.

The Company’s primary business activity is with customers located within its local Northeastern Ohio trade area, eastern Geauga County, and contiguous counties to the north, east, and south. The Company also serves the central Ohio market with offices in Dublin, Sunbury and Westerville, Ohio. Commercial, residential, consumer, and agricultural loans are granted. Although the Company has a diversified loan portfolio, loans outstanding to individuals and businesses are dependent upon the local economic conditions in the Company’s immediate trade area.

Loans that management has the intent and ability to hold for the foreseeable future or until maturity or payoff generally are reported at their outstanding unpaid principal balances net of the allowance for loan and lease losses. Interest income is recognized on the accrual method. The accrual of interest is discontinued on a loan when management believes, after considering economic and business conditions, the borrower’s financial condition is such that collection of interest is doubtful. Interest received on nonaccrual loans is recorded as income or applied against principal according to management’s judgment as to the collectability of such principal.

Loan origination fees and certain direct loan origination costs are deferred with the net amount amortized over the contractual life of the loan as an adjustment of the related loan’s yield.

The following tables summarize the primary segments of the loan portfolio and allowance for loan and lease losses (in thousands):