Company Description
Franklin Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ: FRAF) is a Pennsylvania-based bank holding company in the commercial banking industry. According to company disclosures, it is the bank holding company for F&M Trust, a community bank headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Franklin Financial describes itself as the largest independent, locally owned and operated bank holding company headquartered in Franklin County, with assets measured in the billions of dollars.
The Corporation operates in the finance and insurance sector through general commercial and retail banking activities and related financial services. As summarized in public information, Franklin Financial and F&M Trust provide banking services that include accepting and maintaining checking, savings and time deposit accounts, making loans, and offering safe deposit facilities. The organization also offers investment and trust services, and performs personal, corporate, pension and fiduciary services through its wealth management and Investment and Trust Services operations.
Community banking footprint and market area
Franklin Financial’s banking subsidiary, F&M Trust, operates a network of community banking locations. Company news releases state that F&M Trust has twenty-three community banking locations in Franklin, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fulton and Huntingdon Counties in Pennsylvania, and Washington County in Maryland. Earlier disclosures referenced twenty-two locations before expansion into Dauphin County, indicating a focus on south-central Pennsylvania and adjacent markets.
Within this market area, the Corporation emphasizes traditional community banking relationships with businesses, individuals and governmental entities. Its loan portfolio, as described in periodic financial updates, includes a significant concentration in commercial real estate loans, with collateral segments such as apartment buildings, hotels and motels, office buildings, land development and shopping centers, primarily in the Bank’s market area of south-central Pennsylvania. These disclosures illustrate the importance of regional commercial real estate to Franklin Financial’s lending activities.
Business model and revenue drivers
Franklin Financial’s business model reflects that of a community-focused commercial bank holding company. Based on its public financial highlights, revenue is driven by net interest income from loans and investment securities, along with noninterest income from wealth management fees, loan-related charges, and other banking services. Company reports repeatedly highlight net interest income as a key contributor to earnings and emphasize the impact of loan growth, deposit costs and yields on earning assets on the net interest margin.
Wealth management is another important component of the Corporation’s operations. In multiple quarterly releases, Franklin Financial reports wealth management fees and assets under management in its Investment and Trust Services Department and wealth management division. These services include investment and trust activities and fiduciary services for personal, corporate and pension clients, as described in company materials.
Deposits, funding and capital
Franklin Financial’s disclosures describe a deposit base that includes noninterest-bearing accounts, interest-bearing checking and savings, money management accounts and time deposits. The Corporation regularly reports the proportion of deposits estimated to be FDIC insured or collateralized, reflecting attention to deposit stability and regulatory protections. Over time, company releases note changes in the mix of deposits, such as growth in money management and time deposits and shifts in interest-bearing checking balances.
In addition to deposits, Franklin Financial utilizes borrowings, including advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and, during certain periods, funding from the Federal Reserve’s Bank Term Funding Program. The Corporation has also issued subordinated notes, and an August 2025 Form 8-K describes a partial redemption of 5.00% fixed to floating rate notes due 2030 using excess cash on hand. Company communications consistently state that F&M Trust is considered to be well-capitalized under regulatory guidance at various reporting dates.
Risk management and credit quality
Franklin Financial regularly reports on credit quality metrics, including nonaccrual loans, nonperforming assets and the allowance for credit losses. Public filings and news releases detail the adoption of the current expected credit loss (CECL) model for calculating the allowance for credit losses, and they discuss provisions for credit losses on loans and unfunded commitments. Examples include specific reserves established on certain commercial real estate credits and commentary on the ratio of the allowance for credit losses to total loans.
These disclosures provide insight into how the Corporation evaluates credit risk in its loan portfolio, including commercial real estate exposures such as mixed-use projects and hotel loans. The company’s reporting of nonaccrual loan balances, coverage ratios and subsequent developments on specific credits illustrates its approach to monitoring and managing credit risk.
Dividends, share repurchases and shareholder returns
Franklin Financial’s Board of Directors has a history of declaring regular quarterly cash dividends on its common stock. Company news releases and Form 8-K filings document dividend declarations, including per-share amounts and record and payment dates. In several instances, the Corporation notes modest increases in the quarterly dividend compared to prior-year levels.
The Corporation has also authorized open market share repurchase plans. Public disclosures describe Board-approved plans to repurchase up to 150,000 shares of common stock over specified periods, with updates on the number of shares repurchased to fund dividend reinvestment plans. A December 2025 Form 8-K reports that the Board authorized the repurchase of up to 150,000 shares for a period beginning January 1, 2026 and continuing through December 31, 2026.
Regulatory reporting and transparency
As a publicly traded bank holding company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FRAF, Franklin Financial files periodic reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Company communications refer readers to Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K for detailed financial and risk information. The Corporation also furnishes investor presentations via Form 8-K and makes additional information available through its own channels.
In its forward-looking statement disclosures, Franklin Financial identifies factors that can affect results, such as changes in interest rates, inflation, economic conditions, cost of funds, government monetary policy, regulation and taxation of financial institutions, technology changes and competition within its market area. These statements underscore the operating environment in which the Corporation conducts its commercial banking and wealth management activities.
Franklin Financial Services Corporation at a glance
- Sector: Finance and Insurance
- Industry: Commercial Banking
- Structure: Bank holding company for F&M Trust
- Primary exchange listing: Nasdaq Stock Market (symbol FRAF)
- Market focus: Community banking in south-central Pennsylvania and nearby markets, with locations in selected Pennsylvania counties and Washington County, Maryland
- Key activities: Commercial and retail banking, lending, deposit services, investment and trust services, and wealth management
FAQs about Franklin Financial Services Corporation (FRAF)
- What does Franklin Financial Services Corporation do?
Franklin Financial Services Corporation is a bank holding company for F&M Trust. According to company disclosures, it engages in general commercial and retail banking and related trust and investment services. Its activities include maintaining deposit accounts, making loans, offering safe deposit facilities and providing wealth management and fiduciary services.
- What is the relationship between Franklin Financial and F&M Trust?
F&M Trust is the wholly owned banking subsidiary of Franklin Financial Services Corporation. Public filings and news releases describe Franklin Financial as the bank holding company of F&M Trust, through which it conducts its community banking, lending and deposit operations.
- Where does Franklin Financial conduct its banking operations?
Company news releases state that F&M Trust operates community banking locations in Franklin, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fulton and Huntingdon Counties in Pennsylvania, and Washington County in Maryland. The Corporation notes that many of its commercial real estate loans are secured by properties in its market area of south-central Pennsylvania.
- What types of loans are important to Franklin Financial’s business?
Franklin Financial’s periodic financial updates highlight commercial real estate loans as a significant part of its loan portfolio. Reported collateral segments include apartment buildings, hotels and motels, office buildings, land development and shopping centers, with these loans primarily located in the Bank’s market area.
- How does Franklin Financial generate noninterest income?
Noninterest income reported by the Corporation includes wealth management fees, loan-related charges and other fee-based revenues. Company disclosures emphasize the role of wealth management and Investment and Trust Services, which generate fees based on assets under management and fiduciary activities.
- How does Franklin Financial describe its capital and regulatory position?
In multiple news releases, Franklin Financial states that F&M Trust is considered to be well-capitalized under regulatory guidance at various reporting dates. The Corporation also reports shareholders’ equity, tangible book value per share and other capital-related measures in its financial highlights.
- Does Franklin Financial pay dividends to shareholders?
Yes. The Board of Directors regularly declares quarterly cash dividends on Franklin Financial’s common stock. Public announcements specify the dividend per share, the record date and the payment date, and some releases note percentage increases compared to prior-year dividends.
- Has Franklin Financial authorized share repurchases?
Yes. Company disclosures describe Board-authorized open market repurchase plans to buy back up to 150,000 shares of common stock over defined periods. A December 2025 Form 8-K reports authorization to repurchase up to 150,000 shares between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026.
- What regulatory filings does Franklin Financial provide to investors?
As a Nasdaq-listed company, Franklin Financial files Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K with the SEC. It also furnishes investor presentations via Form 8-K and refers investors to these documents for detailed financial and risk information.
- Is Franklin Financial still an independent company?
Company news releases and SEC filings describe Franklin Financial as an independent, locally owned and operated bank holding company headquartered in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The provided materials do not indicate a completed merger, acquisition or name change.