This Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act”), as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“1934 Act”), as amended. Those sections of the 1933 Act and 1934 Act provide a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their financial performance as long as important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from projected results are identified with meaningful cautionary statements. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “projects,” “intends,” and “estimates” or variations of such words and similar expressions, as well as future or conditional verbs preceded by “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or “may” are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain underlying assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance, as they could be impacted by several potential risks and developments that cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty.
These statements are based on management’s current expectations regarding economic, legislative, regulatory and other environmental issues that may affect our earnings in future periods. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, forecast in, or implied by such forward-looking statements.
A variety of factors could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations and should be considered when evaluating the Company’s potential future financial performance. They include, but are not limited to:
| ● | risks associated with fluctuations in interest rates, including the impact on other comprehensive income, the ability for customers to repay on floating or adjustable rates loans, and the impact on costs and demand of deposits and funding, the impact on interest income on earning assets, the impact on valuations of collateral on our loans, and the impact on fair value of longer-term assets; |
| ● | risks associated with inflation (including efforts by the FOMC of the FRB to control the same); |
| ● | the risk of unfavorable economic conditions in the Company’s market areas, or the impact on the Company’s market areas of national or international economic conditions; |
| ● | liquidity risks, including the ability to effectively manage the potential loss of deposits, the ability to maintain funding lines of credit, and the loss of value of unencumbered investment securities; |
| ● | increases in nonperforming assets and credit losses that could occur, particularly in times of weak economic conditions or rising interest rates; |
| ● | the impact of adverse developments at other banks, including bank failures, that impact general sentiment regarding the stability and liquidity of banks; |
| ● | risks associated with the multitude of or changes to current and prospective banking laws and regulations, and related interpretations, to which the Company is and will be subject; |
| ● | operational risks including the ability to detect and prevent financial reporting errors, operations errors, and fraud; |
| ● | the Company’s ability to diversify and grow its loan portfolio; |
| ● | the Company’s ability to attract and retain skilled employees; |
| ● | the Company’s ability to successfully deploy new technology and manage cyber security risks; |
| ● | the risk to the Company’s operations and ability to serve customers due to the inability of a vendor to meet its service level agreements; |
| ● | the outcome of any existing or future legal action for which the Company or Bank is a defendant; |
| ● | the effects of severe weather events, pandemics, other public health crises, acts of war or terrorism, and other external events; and |
| ● | the success of acquisitions or branch expansions, closures or consolidations. |
Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from results that might be implied by forward-looking statements include the risk factors detailed in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, and in Item 1A, herein. We do not update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
