{"url_path":"/sec/ocfc/10-k/2026/item-7a","section_key":"item-7a","section_title":"Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk","topic":"sec","document":{"doc_type":"10-K","doc_date":"2026-02-27","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1004702/0001004702-26-000015-index.html","accession_number":"0001004702-26-000015","cik":"0001004702","ticker":"OCFC","issuer_name":"OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP","edgar_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1004702/0001004702-26-000015-index.html","primary_entity_key":"0001004702","primary_entity_name":"OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP"},"word_count":1081,"has_tables":true,"body_markdown":"Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk\n\nManagement of IRR\n\nMarket risk is the risk of loss from adverse changes in market prices and rates. The Company’s market risk arises primarily from the IRR inherent in its lending, investment, deposit-taking, and funding activities. The Company’s profitability is affected by fluctuations in interest rates. Changes in interest rates may negatively or positively impact the Company’s earnings to the extent that the interest rates borne by assets and liabilities do not change at the same speed, to the same extent or on the same basis. Changes in interest rates may also negatively or positively impact the market value of the Company’s investment securities, in particular fixed-rate instruments. Net gains or losses in available-for-sale securities can increase or decrease accumulated other comprehensive income or loss and total stockholders’ equity. Management actively monitors and manages IRR. The extent of the movement of interest rates, higher or lower, is an uncertainty that could have a substantial impact on the earnings and stockholders’ equity of the Company.\n\nThe principal objectives of the IRR management function are to: evaluate the IRR inherent in the Company’s business; determine the level of risk appropriate given the Company’s business focus, operating and interest rate environment, capital and liquidity requirements, and performance objectives; and manage the risk consistent with Board approved guidelines. The Company maintains an ALCO consisting of members of management, responsible for reviewing asset liability policies and the IRR position. ALCO meets regularly and reports the Company’s IRR position and trends to the Board on a regular basis.\n\nThe Company utilizes a number of strategies to manage IRR including, but not limited to: (1) managing the origination, purchase, sale, and retention of various types of loans with differing IRR profiles; (2) attempting to reduce the overall interest rate sensitivity of liabilities by emphasizing stable relationship-based deposits and longer-term deposits; (3) selectively purchasing interest rate swaps and caps converting the rates for customer loans to manage individual loans and the Company’s overall IRR profile; (4) managing the investment portfolio IRR profile; (5) managing the maturities and rate structures of borrowings and time deposits; and (6) purchasing interest rate swaps to manage overall balance sheet interest rate risk.\n\nThe matching of assets and liabilities may be analyzed by examining the extent to which such assets and liabilities are “interest rate sensitive.” Interest rate sensitivity is monitored through the use of an IRR model, which measures the change in the institution’s EVE and net interest income under various interest rate scenarios. EVE is the difference between the net present value of assets, liabilities and off-balance-sheet contracts. Interest rate sensitivity is monitored by management through the use of a model which measures IRR by modeling the change in EVE and net interest income over a range of interest rate scenarios. Modeled assets and liabilities are assumed to reprice at respective repricing or maturity dates. Pricing caps and floors are included in the results, where applicable. The Company uses prepayment expectations set forth by market sources as well as Company generated data where applicable. Generally, cash flows from loans and securities are assumed to be reinvested to maintain a static balance sheet. Other assumptions about balance sheet mix are generally held constant.\n\nThe methodologies and assumptions used in this analysis are periodically evaluated and refined in response to changes in the market environment, changes in the Company’s balance sheet composition, enhancements in the Company’s modeling and other factors. Such changes may affect historical comparisons of these results. For loans, investments, borrowings and time deposits, the fair value used in the EVE closely aligns with the Company’s fair value measurements defined within Note 15, Fair Value Measurements to the consolidated financial statements. However, for non-maturity deposits, the fair value differs for EVE as it also considers the likelihood of deposit withdrawals and the current weighted average deposit rate relative to market rates. The Company’s weighted average age of non-maturity deposit accounts was approximately 15.5 years, and the weighted average cost was 1.52%.\n\n68\n\nThe Company performs a variety of EVE and twelve-month net interest income sensitivity scenarios. At both December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company was in compliance with Board guidelines for each scenario. The following table sets forth sensitivity for a specific range of interest rate scenarios as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.\n\n December 31, 2025December 31, 2024\n\nChange in Interest Rates in Basis PointsEconomic Value of EquityNet Interest IncomeEconomic Value of EquityNet Interest Income\n\n(Rate Shock)% Change% Change% Change% Change\n\n300(6.6)%(2.5)%(6.2)%(0.8)%\n\n200(4.0)(1.4)(3.6)0.1 \n\n100(1.7)(0.6)(1.5)0.4 \n\nStatic— — — — \n\n(100)1.4 1.2 1.5 (0.5)\n\n(200)0.5 2.2 1.8 (1.3)\n\n(300)(4.3)3.0 (0.6)(2.6)\n\nThe net interest income sensitivity results at December 31, 2025 was modestly liability sensitive as compared to the prior year. The change in sensitivity from prior year was impacted by an increase in fixed rate loans, an increase in short-term time deposits and overnight borrowings and non-maturity deposit growth with higher betas, partially offset by an increase in floating rate loans and securities.\n\nOverall, the measure of EVE at risk slightly increased in all rate scenarios from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025. This increase was the result of an increase in fixed rate loans, short-term time deposits and overnight borrowings and higher beta non-maturity deposits, offset by an increase in floating rate loans and securities.\n\nCertain shortcomings are inherent in the methodology used in the EVE and net interest income IRR measurements. The model requires the making of certain assumptions, which may tend to oversimplify the manner in which actual yields and costs respond to changes in market interest rates. First, the model assumes that the composition of the Company’s interest sensitive assets and liabilities existing at the beginning of a period remains constant over the period being measured. Second, the model assumes that a particular change in interest rates is reflected uniformly across the yield curve regardless of the duration to maturity or repricing of specific assets and liabilities. Third, the model does not take into account the Company’s business or strategic plans or any steps it may take to respond to changes in rates. Fourth, prepayment, rate sensitivity, and average life assumptions can have a significant impact on the IRR model results. Lastly, the model utilizes data derived from historical performance. Accordingly, although the above measurements provide an indication of the Company’s IRR exposure at a particular point in time, such measurements are not intended to provide a precise forecast of the effect of changes in market interest rates.\n\n69"}