CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, notwithstanding that such statements are not specifically identified. Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “predict,” “seek,” “potential,” “will,” “estimate,” “target,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “intend” 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:
● our ability to execute our business strategy, as well as changes in our business strategy or development plans;
● business and economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry;
● effects of any potential government shutdowns;
● economic, market, operational, liquidity, credit and interest rate risks associated with our business;
● effects of any changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board;
● changes imposed by regulatory agencies to increase our capital to a level greater than the current level required for well-capitalized financial institutions;
● effects of inflation, as well as, interest rate, securities market and monetary supply fluctuations;
● changes in the economy or supply-demand imbalances affecting local real estate values;
● changes in consumer spending, borrowings and savings habits;
● with respect to our mortgage business, our inability to negotiate our fees with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or other investors for the purchase of our loans, our obligation to indemnify purchasers or to repurchase the related loans if the loans fail to meet certain criteria, or higher rate of delinquencies and defaults as a result of the geographic concentration of our servicing portfolio;
● our ability to identify potential candidates for, obtain regulatory approval for, and consummate, acquisitions, consolidations or other expansion opportunities on attractive terms, or at all;
● our ability to integrate acquisitions or consolidations and to achieve synergies, operating efficiencies and/or other expected benefits within expected time-frames, or at all, or within expected cost projections, and to preserve the goodwill of acquired financial institutions;
● our ability to realize the anticipated benefits from enhancements or updates to our core operating systems from time to time without significant change in our client service or risk to our control environment;
● our dependence on information technology and telecommunications systems of third-party service providers and the risk of system failures, interruptions or breaches of security, including those that could result in disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary client or other information;
● our ability to achieve organic loan and deposit growth and the composition of such growth;
● changes in sources and uses of funds, including loans, deposits and borrowings;