2021 Annual Report

• the impact of recent and future legislative and regulatory changes, including changes to federal and state corporate tax rates; • interest rate risk, including the effects of anticipated rate increases by the Federal Reserve; • fluctuations in the values of the securities held in our securities portfolio or the values of derivative instruments held in our derivatives portfolio; • the imposition of tariffs or other governmental policies impacting the value of products produced by our commercial borrowers; • severe weather, natural disasters, wide spread disease or pandemics (including the COVID-19 pandemic), acts of war or terrorism or other adverse external events; • potential impairment to the goodwill recorded in connection with a past acquisition; and • changes to U.S. or state tax laws, regulations and guidance, including recent proposals to increase the federal corporate tax rate. The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with the other cautionary statements included in this report. In addition, past results of operations are not necessarily indicative of future results. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this report is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS Company Overview and History Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company”) is a Minnesota corporation and financial holding company with two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Bridgewater Bank (the “Bank”) and Bridgewater Risk Management, Inc., a captive insurance entity. The Bank has two wholly-owned subsidiaries: BWB Holdings, LLC, which was formed for the purpose of holding repossessed property; and Bridgewater Investment Management, Inc., which was formed for the purposes of holding certain municipal securities and engaging in municipal lending activities. The Bank has seven full-service offices located in Bloomington, Greenwood, Minneapolis (2), St. Louis Park, Orono, and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Company is headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb located approximately 5 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis. The Company and Bank were established in 2005 as a de novo bank by a group of industry veterans and local business leaders committed to serving the diverse needs of commercial real estate investors, small business entrepreneurs, and high net worth individuals. Since inception, the Company has grown significantly and profitably, with a focus on organic growth, driven primarily by commercial real estate lending. Assets have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 33.3% since 2005, surpassing total asset milestones of $500 million in 2013, $1.0 billion in 2016, $2.0 billion in 2019, and $3.0 billion in 2021. While this growth has been almost entirely organic, in 2016 the Company acquired First National Bank of the Lakes in a complementary small bank acquisition, which added approximately $76.1 million in assets, $66.7 million in seasoned core deposits and two branch locations within its market area. As of December 31, 2021, total assets were $3.48 billion, total gross loans were $2.82 billion, total deposits were $2.95 billion, and total shareholders’ equity was $379.3 million. The principal sources of funds for loans and investments are transaction, savings, time, and other deposits, and short-term and long-term borrowings. The Company’s principal sources of income are interest and fees collected on loans, interest and dividends earned on investment securities and service charges. The Company’s principal expenses are interest paid on deposit accounts and borrowings, employee compensation and other overhead expenses. The

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