CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT****S
This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements do not discuss historical facts but instead relate to expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “predict,” “seek,” “potential,” “will,” “estimate,” “target,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “intend,” “goal,” “focus,” “maintains,” “future,” “ultimately, ” “likely,” “anticipate,” “ensure,” “strategy,” “objective,” and similar words or phrases. These statements are only predictions and involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties. We have based these statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, business strategy and growth prospects.
Forward-looking statements involve certain important risks, uncertainties and other factors, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such statements and, therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
| ● | business and economic conditions along with external events both generally and in the financial services industry; |
| ● | susceptibility to credit risk and fluctuations in the value of real estate and other collateral securing a significant portion of our loan portfolio, including with regards to real estate acquired through foreclosure, and the accuracy of appraisals related to such real estate; |
| ● | the allowance for credit losses and fair value adjustments may be insufficient to absorb losses in our loan portfolio; |
| ● | our ability to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet the requirements of deposit withdrawals and other business needs; |
| ● | changes impacting monetary supply and the businesses of our clients and counterparties, including levels of market interest rates, inflation, currency values, monetary and fiscal policies, and the volatility of trading markets; |
| ● | changes in the fair value of our investment securities and the ability of companies in which we invest to commercialize their technology or product concepts; |
| ● | the loss of certain executive officers and key personnel; |
| ● | any service interruptions, cyber incidents or other breaches relating to our technology systems, security systems or infrastructure or those of our third-party providers; |
| ● | the occurrence of fraud or other financial crimes within our business; |
| ● | competition from other financial institutions and financial services providers and the effects of disintermediation within the banking business including consolidation within the industry; |
| ● | changes to federal government lending programs like the Small Business Administration’s Preferred Lender Program and the Federal Housing Administration’s insurance programs, including the impact of a government shutdown on such programs; |
| ● | impairment of our mortgage servicing rights, disruption in the secondary market for mortgage loans, declines in real estate values, or being required to repurchase mortgage loans or reimburse investors; |
| ● | developments in technology, such as artificial intelligence, the success of our digital growth strategy, and our ability to incorporate innovative technologies in our business and provide products and services that satisfy our clients’ expectations for convenience and security; |
| ● | our ability to execute our organic growth and acquisition strategies; |
| ● | the accuracy of projected operating results for assets and businesses we acquire as well as our ability to drive organic loan growth to replace loans in our existing portfolio with comparable loans as loans are paid down; |
| ● | changes to federal, state and local laws and regulations along with executive orders applicable to our business, including tax laws; |
| ● | our ability to comply with and manage costs related to extensive government regulation and supervision, including current and future regulations affecting bank holding companies and depository institutions; |
| ● | the application of any increased assessment rates imposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”); |
| ● | claims or legal action brought against us by third parties or government agencies; and |
| ● | other factors, risks, trends and uncertainties described under “Part I, Item 1. Business”, “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). |
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.
