WSFS Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries (WSFS) is a savings and loan holding company. Substantially all of the company’s assets are held by its subsidiary, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB (WSFS Bank or the bank).
As a federal savings bank that was formerly chartered as a state mutual savings bank, WSFS Bank enjoys a broader scope of permissible activities than most other financial institutions.
In addition to its focus on stellar client experiences, WSFS Bank has continued to fuel...
WSFS Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries (WSFS) is a savings and loan holding company. Substantially all of the company’s assets are held by its subsidiary, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB (WSFS Bank or the bank).
As a federal savings bank that was formerly chartered as a state mutual savings bank, WSFS Bank enjoys a broader scope of permissible activities than most other financial institutions.
In addition to its focus on stellar client experiences, WSFS Bank has continued to fuel growth and remain a leader in the company’s community. The company is a relationship-focused and locally-managed community banking and wealth franchise, complemented by nationwide businesses.
As of December 31, 2024, the company serviced its Clients primarily from its offices located in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, and Virginia; the company’s ATM network; the company’s website at www.wsfsbank.com; and the company’s mobile app.
Subsidiaries
As of December 31, 2024, the company had six consolidated subsidiaries: WSFS Bank, The Bryn Mawr Trust Company of Delaware (BMT-DE), Bryn Mawr Capital Management, LLC (BMCM), WSFS Wealth Management, LLC (Powdermill), WSFS SPE Services, LLC, and 601 Perkasie, LLC.
BMT-DE, a Delaware state chartered non-depository trust company, supplements the company’s existing Wealth Management segment by offering Delaware advantage trust services, including directed trusts, asset protection trusts and dynasty trusts via centers of influence, such as estate planning attorneys.
BMCM is a registered investment adviser and provides fee-only asset management services.
Powdermill provides multi-family office services to affluent clientele in the local community and throughout the U.S.
WSFS SPE Services, LLC provides commercial domicile services which include providing employees, directors, subleases of office facilities and registered agent services in Delaware and Nevada.
601 Perkasie, LLC was formed to hold certain tax credit investments.
As of December 31, 2024, WSFS Bank had two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Beneficial Equipment Finance Corporation (BEFC), and 1832 Holdings, Inc. WSFS Bank had one majority-owned subsidiary, NewLane Finance Company (NewLane Finance).
BEFC, a small equipment and fixed assets leasing company, was acquired during the Beneficial Bancorp, Inc. (Beneficial) acquisition. Subsequent to the Beneficial acquisition, BEFC ceased the origination of new leases and its leasing operations were combined with NewLane Finance, described below.
1832 Holdings, Inc. was formed to hold certain debt and equity investment securities.
NewLane Finance originates small business leases and provides commercial financing to businesses nationwide, targeting various equipment categories including technology, software, office, medical, veterinary and other areas. In addition, NewLane Finance offers new product offerings for insurance through its subsidiary, Prime Protect.
As of December 31, 2024, WSFS had three unconsolidated subsidiaries, WSFS Capital Trust III (the Trust), Royal Bancshares Capital Trust I, and Royal Bancshares Capital Trust II.
Segments
The company’s business has three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect and Wealth Management.
The WSFS Bank segment provides loans and leases, deposits and other financial products to Commercial and Consumer Clients.
Cash Connect provides ATM vault cash, smart safe and cash logistics services in the U.S, servicing non-bank ATMs and smart safes nationwide and supporting ATMs for WSFS Bank Clients with one of the largest branded ATM networks in the company’s region.
The Wealth Management segment provides a broad array of planning and advisor services, investment management, personal and institutional trust services, and credit and deposit products to individuals, corporate, and institutional clients.
WSFS Bank
The company has built a commercial loan and lease portfolio by recruiting seasoned commercial lenders in the company’s markets, offering a high level of service and flexibility. The company funds its lending businesses primarily with deposits generated through commercial relationships and consumer deposits, as well as through the company’s digital banking platforms.
WSFS Bank also offers a broad variety of consumer loan products, retail securities and insurance brokerage services through the company’s branches. The WSFS Home Lending division offers mortgage and title services through WSFS Mortgage, as well as home equity lending. The company’s WSFS Mortgage business is a mortgage banking company and abstract and title company specializing in a variety of residential mortgage and refinancing solutions.
Cash Connect
The company’s Cash Connect business is a premier provider of ATM vault cash, smart safe (safes that automatically accept, validate, record and hold cash in a secure environment) and other cash logistics services through strategic partnerships with several of the largest networks, manufacturers and service providers in the ATM industry. Cash Connect services non-bank and WSFS-branded ATMs and smart safes nationwide. As of December 31, 2024, Cash Connect serviced various non-bank ATMs and smart safes nationwide. Cash Connect provides related services, such as online reporting and ATM cash management, predictive cash ordering and reconcilement services, armored carrier management, loss protection and deposit safe cash logistics. As of December 31, 2024, Cash Connect also supported various owned or branded ATMs for WSFS Bank Clients, which has one of the largest branded ATM networks in the company’s market.
Wealth Management
The company’s Wealth Management business provides a broad array of planning and advisory services, investment management, trust services, and credit and deposit products to individual, corporate, and institutional clients.
Bryn Mawr Trust is the company’s predominant Private Wealth Management brand, providing advisory, investment management and trustee services to institutions, affluent and high-net-worth individuals. Private Wealth Management, which includes Private Banking, serves high-net-worth clients and institutions by providing trustee and advisory services, financial planning, customized investment strategies, brokerage products, such as annuities and customized banking services, including credit and deposit products tailored to its clientele. Private Wealth Management includes businesses that operate under the bank’s charter, through a third-party broker/dealer, and as a registered investment advisor (RIA). It generates revenue through fee-only arrangements, net interest income and other fee-only services, such as estate administration, trust tax planning and custody. Powdermill is a multi-family office specializing in providing independent solutions to high-net-worth individuals, families and corporate executives through a coordinated, centralized approach.
The Bryn Mawr Trust Company of Delaware provides personal trust and fiduciary services to families and individuals across the U.S. and internationally. WSFS Institutional Services provides trustee, agency, bankruptcy administration, custodial and commercial domicile services to institutional, corporate clients and special purpose vehicles.
Community Banking Model
The company’s size and community banking model play a key role in the company’s success. The company’s approach to business combines a service-oriented culture with a full complement of products and services, all aimed at meeting the needs of the company’s Clients. The essence of being a community bank means that the company is:
Small enough to offer Clients responsive, personalized service and direct access to decision makers, yet; and
Large enough to provide the products, services and balance sheet lending capacity needed by the company’s target market Clients.
WSFS Bank offers:
One primary point of contact: Each of the company’s relationship managers is responsible for understanding their Clients’ needs and bringing together the right resources in WSFS Bank to meet those needs.
A customized approach to serving the company’s Clients: This gives the company an advantage over its competitors who are too large or centralized to offer customized products or services.
Products and services that the company’s Clients value: This includes a broad array of banking, treasury management, capital markets and trust and wealth management products, as well as a legal lending limit high enough to meet the credit needs of the company’s Clients, especially as they grow.
Rapid response and a company that is easy to do business with: The company’s Clients tell the company this is an important differentiator from larger in-market competitors.
Diversified Business
Diversified Revenue Streams
With over 25 discrete lines of business and products, the company’s diversified revenue model is a key differentiator for the company. The company focuses on relationship-based lending, which provides the potential for higher profit margins, resilient deposits and strong consumer relationships. In addition, the company’s diversified fee revenue businesses, which include banking fees, Wealth, Trust, Cash Connect, and Capital Markets, account for 32.5% of the company’s revenue and further differentiate the company from its peers and provide additional growth opportunities for the company.
Market Demographics
The company’s primary market is the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware region, including southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. This market benefits from an urban concentration, as well as from a unique political, legal, tax and business environment.
Credit Extension Activities
Over the past several years the company has focused on growing the more profitable, relationship-oriented segments of the company’s loan portfolio, as well as growing the company’s consumer portfolio primarily through the company’s consumer partnerships. The company’s portfolio lending activity is concentrated on small- to mid-sized businesses in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., primarily in Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Maryland and northern Virginia. Based on current market conditions, the company expects its focus on growing commercial and industrial loans and other relationship-based commercial loans to continue during the remainder of 2025 and beyond.
Commercial Lending
Commercial, owner-occupied commercial, commercial mortgage and construction loans have higher levels of risk than residential lending. These loans typically involve larger loan balances concentrated with single borrowers or groups of related borrowers. In addition, the payment experience on loans secured by income-producing properties is typically dependent on the successful operation of the related real estate project and may be more subject to adverse conditions in the commercial real estate market or in the general economy than residential loans. The majority of the company’s commercial and commercial mortgage loans are concentrated in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
The company offers commercial mortgage loans on multi-family properties and on other commercial real estate.
The company offers commercial construction loans to developers. In some cases, these loans are made as ‘construction/permanent’ loans, which provides for disbursement of loan funds during construction with the option of conversion to mini-permanent loans (one - five years) upon completion of construction. The company’s policy requires that all appraisals be reviewed independently from the company’s commercial business development staff.
Commercial and industrial and owner-occupied commercial loans include loans for working capital, financing equipment and real estate acquisitions, business expansion and other business purposes.
Small business and middle market commercial loans that include specialty-lending products, including small business leases and SBA loans, comprise the remainder of the company’s commercial portfolio.
The company’s commercial small business leases generated through NewLane Finance, finance critical equipment through advanced technologies, a client-centric approach and transparent business lending practices.
Residential Lending
Generally, the company originates residential first mortgage loans with loan-to-value ratios of up to 80% and require private mortgage insurance or government guarantee for up to 35% of the mortgage amount for mortgage loans with loan-to-value ratios exceeding 80%. On a limited basis, the company has originated loans with loan-to-value ratios exceeding 80% without a private mortgage insurance requirement or government guarantee. Any such loans are either originated for sale into the secondary market or held for investment.
The company’s residential loans generally are underwritten and documented in accordance with standard underwriting criteria published by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Agency, Veterans Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other secondary market participants to assure maximum eligibility for subsequent sale in the secondary market.
To protect the propriety of the company’s liens, the company requires borrowers to provide title insurance. The company also requires fire, extended coverage casualty and flood insurance (where applicable) for properties securing residential loans. All properties securing the company’s residential loans are appraised by independent, licensed and certified appraisers and are subject to review in accordance with the company’s standards. The exception to this policy is when the company in limited circumstances receive an ‘appraisal waiver’ from one of the governmental agencies, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The majority of the company’s adjustable-rate, residential loans have interest rates that adjust yearly or bi-yearly after an initial period of 5, 7, or 10 years.
The company underwrites adjustable-rate loans under standards consistent with private mortgage insurance and secondary market underwriting criteria. The company does not originate adjustable-rate mortgages with payment limitations that could produce negative amortization.
Consumer Lending
The company has focused on diversifying its consumer credit products to meet the company’s Clients’ needs, with over 50% of the portfolio from its fintech lending partnerships. The company has purchased certain second-lien home equity installment loans through the company’s partnership with Spring EQ, LLC (Spring EQ). These select loans meet or exceed the company’s underwriting standards and are similar to home equity loans originated through the company’s branch network. The company has originated personal loans, which are typically unsecured with 36-month or 60-month terms, through the company’s partnership with Upstart. The company has student loans through its partnership with LendKey Technologies Inc. (LendKey). LendKey student loans are primarily to consolidate existing student debt and are also underwritten in accordance with the company’s credit standards. The student loans portfolio also includes loans acquired from past acquisitions, which are the U.S. government guaranteed with little risk of credit loss.
The company’s in-house originations primarily consist of home equity lines of credit and installment loans. Home equity lines of credit offer clients the convenience of checkbook and debit card access, and revolving credit features for a portion of the life of the loan and typically are more attractive in a low interest rate environment.
Loan Originations, Purchases and Sales
The company engages in traditional lending activities primarily in Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and contiguous areas of neighboring states. As a federal savings bank, however, the company may originate, purchase, and sell loans throughout the U.S. and do so when such purchases are deemed appropriate. The company originates fixed-rate and adjustable-rate residential loans through the company’s banking offices and WSFS Mortgage, the company’s mortgage banking company.
Commercial: The company originates commercial mortgage and commercial loans through the company’s commercial lending division and SBA loan program. Commercial loans are made for working capital, financing equipment acquisitions, business expansion and other business purposes. To reduce the company’s exposure on certain types of these loans, and/or to maintain relationships within internal lending limits, at times the company will sell a portion of its commercial loan portfolio, typically through loan syndications and participations. The company also periodically buys loan participations from other banks.
Residential and Consumer: The company has purchased whole loans and loan participations in accordance with its ongoing asset and liability management objectives. There were no purchases in 2024 or 2023 related to the company’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) obligations. The company sells most newly originated mortgage loans in the secondary market to generate fee revenue and to manage the company’s overall balance sheet mix. The company holds certain mortgage loans for investment, consistent with the company’s asset/liability management strategies and the company’s relationship-based lending philosophy.
The company offers government-insured reverse mortgages to its Clients. These loans do not close in the company’s name and the company processes them as a reverse mortgage broker.
The company’s 2024 consumer lending activity was conducted through the company’s branch offices, its website, the company’s partnerships with Spring EQ, Upstart and LendKey, and referrals from other parts of the company’s business. The company originates a variety of consumer credit products, including home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans, unsecured lines of credit, and other secured and unsecured personal installment loans.
Sources of Funds
As a financial institution, the company and the bank have access to several sources of funding. Among these are: Retained earnings; Commercial, consumer, wealth and trust deposits; Loan repayments; Investment securities; Federal funds purchased; Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) borrowings; Federal Reserve Discount Window access; Brokered deposits; Trust preferred borrowings; and Senior and subordinated debt.
The company’s branch strategy has been focused on expanding its market penetration and retail footprint in Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey and attracting new clients in part to provide additional deposit growth.
Deposits
WSFS Bank primarily attracts deposits through its retail branch offices and loan production offices, in Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, as well as through the company’s digital banking platforms.
WSFS Bank offers various deposit products to the company’s Clients, including savings accounts, demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit. In addition, WSFS Bank accepts ‘jumbo’ certificates of deposit with balances in excess of $250,000 from individuals, businesses and municipalities.
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances
As a member of the FHLB, the company is able to obtain FHLB advances.
Regulation
The company and the bank are subject to extensive federal and state banking laws, regulations, and policies that are intended primarily for the protection of depositors, the Deposit Insurance Fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the banking system as a whole, and not for the protection of the company’s other creditors and stockholders. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is the bank’s primary regulator and the Federal Reserve is the company’s primary regulator. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulates the bank’s compliance with federal consumer financial protection laws.
The bank’s deposits are insured by the FDIC to the fullest extent allowed by law. As an insurer of bank deposits, the FDIC promulgates regulations, requires the filing of reports, and has authority to examine the operations of all institutions to which it provides deposit insurance for insurance purposes.
The company is a registered savings and loan holding company and is subject to the regulation, examination, supervision and reporting requirements of the Federal Reserve.
Confirming a longstanding policy of the Federal Reserve, the Dodd-Frank Act requires the company to act as a source of financial strength to the bank in the event of financial distress at the bank.
Bryn Mawr Capital Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Investment Advisers Act) and as such is supervised by the SEC.
As a federally chartered savings association the bank is subject to regulation, examination and supervision by the OCC. The OCC conducts regular safety and soundness examinations of the bank, which result in ratings for capital, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk and a composite rating (referred to collectively as the ‘CAMELS’ ratings).
The FDIC also has the authority to conduct special examinations of the bank. The CFPB has exclusive authority to examine the bank for compliance with federal consumer financial laws. The bank is also subject to certain reserve requirements promulgated by the Federal Reserve.
The bank’s deposits are insured to the maximum extent permitted by the Deposit Insurance Fund. The bank maintains branch offices in three states: Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The bank’s offerings of retail products and services to consumers are subject to a large number of statutes and regulations designed to protect the finances of consumers and to promote lending to various sectors of the economy and population. These laws include, but are not limited to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, federal and state prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, and regulations implementing each of these statutes. The CFPB has exclusive authority to examine the bank for compliance with these laws.
The Federal Reserve has issued rules under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, as amended by a section of the Dodd-Frank Act, known as the Durbin Amendment, to limit interchange fees that an issuer with $10 billion or more in assets, such as the bank, may receive or charge for an electronic debit card transaction.
Anti- money laundering rules and policies are developed and enforced by a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), but compliance by individual institutions is also overseen by their primary federal regulator, which in the bank's case is the OCC.
Investment Securities
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s investment portfolio were collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO); Fannie Mae (FNMA) mortgage-backed securities (MBS); Freddie Mac (FHLMC) MBS; Ginnie Mae (GNMA) MBS; and government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) agency notes.
Trademarks
Bryn Mawr Trust, Cash Connect, NewLane Finance, Powdermill Financial Solutions, WSFS Institutional Services, WSFS Mortgage and WSFS Wealth Investments are the registered trademarks of the company.
History
WSFS Financial Corporation was founded in 1832. The company was incorporated in 1988.
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