SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (including any information incorporated herein by reference) contains, and future oral and written statements of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. ("HTLF") and its management may contain, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to the business, financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives and future performance of HTLF.

Any statements about HTLF's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "project," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "opportunity," "potential" or other similar or negative expressions of these words or phrases. Although HTLF has made these statements based on management's experience, beliefs, expectations, assumptions and best estimate of future events, the ability of the company to predict results or the actual effect or outcomes of plans or strategies is inherently uncertain, and there may be events or factors that management has not anticipated. Therefore, the accuracy and achievement of such forward-looking statements and estimates are subject to a number of risks, many of which are beyond the ability of management to control or predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements. These factors, which the company currently believes could have a material effect on its operations and future prospects include, among others, those described below and in the risk factors in HTLF's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the "Risk Factors" section under Item 1A of Part I of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021:

•COVID-19 Pandemic Risks, including risks related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures enacted by the U.S. federal and state governments and adopted by private businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;

•Economic and Market Conditions Risks, including risks related to changes in the U.S. economy in general and in the local economies in which HTLF conducts its operations and future civil unrest, natural disasters, terrorist threats or acts of war;

•Credit Risks, including risks of increasing credit losses due to deterioration in the financial condition of HTLF's borrowers, changes in asset and collateral values and climate and other borrower industry risks which may impact the provision for credit losses and net charge-offs;

•Liquidity and Interest Rate Risks, including the impact of capital market conditions and changes in monetary policy on our borrowings and net interest income;

•Operational Risks, including processing, information systems, cybersecurity, vendor, business interruption, and fraud risks;

•Strategic and External Risks, including competitive forces impacting our business and strategic acquisition risks;

•Legal, Compliance and Reputational Risks, including regulatory and litigation risks; and

•Risks of Owning Stock in HTLF, including stock price volatility and dilution as a result of future equity offerings and acquisitions.

These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements made by HTLF or on its behalf, and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. There can be no assurance that other factors not currently anticipated by HTLF will not materially and adversely affect the company's business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and may continue to be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of varying governmental responses that affect HTLF's employees, customers and the economies where they operate. All statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made. HTLF does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions which may be made or to correct or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or to otherwise update any statement in light of new information or future events. Further information concerning HTLF and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect HTLF's financial results, is included in the company's filings with the SEC.

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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. These estimates are based upon historical experience and on various other assumptions that management believes are reasonable under the circumstances. Among other things, the estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. The estimates and judgments that management believes have the most effect on HTLF's reported financial position and results of operations are described as critical accounting policies in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. There have been no significant changes in the critical accounting estimates or the assumptions and judgments utilized in applying these estimates since December 31, 2021.

OVERVIEW

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is a financial services company operating under the brand name "HTLF". HTLF's independently branded and chartered banks serve communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin. HTLF is committed to its core commercial business supported by a strong retail operation and provides a diversified line of financial services and products including treasury management, wealth management, investments and residential mortgages. As of June 30, 2022, HTLF had eleven banking subsidiaries with 121 locations.

HTLF's results of operations depend primarily on net interest income, which is the difference between interest income from interest earning assets and interest expense on interest bearing liabilities. Noninterest income, which includes service charges and fees, loan servicing income, trust income, brokerage and insurance commissions, securities gains, net gains on sale of loans held for sale, and income on bank owned life insurance, also affects the results of operations. HTLF's principal operating expenses, aside from interest expense, consist of the provision for credit losses, salaries and employee benefits, occupancy and equipment costs, professional fees, advertising, core deposit and customer relationship intangibles amortization and other real estate and loan collection expenses.

HTLF reported the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2021:

•net income available to common stockholders of $49.9 million compared to $59.6 million, a decrease of $9.7 million or 16%,

•earnings per diluted common share of $1.17 compared to $1.41, a decrease of $0.24 or 17%,

•net interest income of $142.5 million compared to $141.2 million, an increase of $1.2 million or 1%,

•return on average common equity was 11.55% compared to 12.07%,

•return on average assets was 1.06% compared to 1.35%, and

•return on average tangible common equity (non-GAAP) was 18.35% compared to 18.05%.

HTLF reported the following results for the six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2021:

•net income available to common stockholders of $90.9 million compared to $110.4 million, a decrease of $19.5 million or 18%.

•earnings per diluted common share of $2.14 compared to $2.61, a decrease of $0.47 or 18%,

•net interest income of $277.1 million compared to $280.8 million, a decrease of $3.7 million or 1%,

•return on average common equity was 9.82% compared to 11.29%,

•return on average assets was 0.99% compared to 1.27%, and

•return on average tangible common equity (non-GAAP) was 15.08% compared to 16.99%.

For the second quarter of 2022, net interest margin was 3.18% (3.22% on a fully tax-equivalent basis, non-GAAP), which compares to 3.37% (3.41% on a fully tax-equivalent basis, non-GAAP) for the second quarter of 2021. For the first six months of 2022, net interest margin was 3.13% (3.17% on a fully tax-equivalent basis, non-GAAP) which compares to 3.40% (3.45% on a fully tax equivalent basis, non-GAAP) for the first six months of 2021.

The efficiency ratio on a fully tax-equivalent basis (non-GAAP) was 57.66% for the second quarter of 2022 compared to 57.11% for the same quarter of 2021. For the first six months of 2022, the efficiency ratio on a fully tax-equivalent basis (non-GAAP) was 61.02% compared to 56.86% for the first six months of 2021.

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Total assets were $19.66 billion at June 30, 2022, an increase of $383.9 million or 2% since December 31, 2021. Securities represented 37% of total assets at June 30, 2022, and 40% of total assets at December 31, 2021. Total loans held to maturity were $10.68 billion at June 30, 2022 compared to $9.95 billion at December 31, 2021, which was an increase of $723.6 million or 7%. Excluding total Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans, total loans held to maturity increased $900.5 million or 9% since year-end 2021.

The total allowance for lending related credit losses was $119.1 million or 1.12% of total loans at June 30, 2022, compared to $125.6 million or 1.26% of total loans at December 31, 2021.

Total deposits were $17.23 billion as of June 30, 2022, compared to $16.42 billion at December 31, 2021, an increase of $808.3 million or 5%.

Total equity was $1.77 billion at June 30, 2022, compared to $2.18 billion at December 31, 2021. Book value per common share was $39.19 at June 30, 2022, compared to $49.00 at year-end 2021. The unrealized loss on securities available for sale, net of applicable taxes, was $485.8 million at June 30, 2022, compared to an unrealized loss of $4.4 million, net of applicable taxes, at December 31, 2021.

Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information on the usage and presentation of the foregoing non-GAAP measures, and refer to the financial tables under "Financial Highlights" for the reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

2022 Developments

Charter Consolidation Update During the second quarter of 2022, the consolidation of HTLF's eleven separate bank charters advanced from planning to execution. Citywide Banks is now operating as a division of HTLF Bank, completing the first stage of charter consolidation. Each of the remaining charters will be consolidated into HTLF Bank in the following 10 stages of the project, using a template that retains their current brands, local leadership and local decision making. The final stage is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Consolidation restructuring costs are projected to be $19.0-$20.0 million, with approximately $14.0-$15.0 million of expenses remaining to be incurred through 2023. Total costs incurred since the project started in the fourth quarter of 2021 through June 30, 2022 were $4.7 million, of which $2.4 million was incurred in the second quarter of 2022. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, consolidation restructuring costs of $2.8 million have been incurred. Charter consolidation is designed to eliminate redundancies and improve HTLF's operating efficiency and capacity to support ongoing product and service enhancements and current and future growth. The resulting efficiencies and expansion in capacity are projected to generate financial benefits of approximately $20.0 million annually when the project is completed with core operating expenses expected to decline to 2.15% or less of average assets.

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