Forward Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains, and other periodic and current reports, press releases and other public stockholder communications of BankFinancial Corporation may contain, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements may include statements relating to our future plans, strategies and expectations, as well as our future revenues, earnings, losses, financial performance, financial condition, asset quality metrics and future prospects. Forward looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” or similar expressions. Forward looking statements speak only as of the date made. They are frequently based on assumptions that may or may not materialize, and are subject to numerous uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are including this statement for the purpose of invoking these safe harbor provisions.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated or projected and which could materially and adversely affect our operating results, financial condition or future prospects include, but are not limited to: (i) the failure of the real estate market to recover or further declines in real estate values that adversely impact the value of our loan collateral and Other Real Estate Owned (“OREO”), asset dispositions and borrower equity in their investments; (ii) the persistence or worsening of adverse economic conditions in general and in the Chicago metropolitan area in particular, including high or increasing unemployment levels, that could result in increased delinquencies in our loan portfolio or a decline in the value of our investment securities and the collateral for our loans; (iii) results of supervisory monitoring or examinations by regulatory authorities, including the possibility that a regulatory authority could, among other things, require us to increase our loan classifications or allowance for loan losses, write-down assets, reduce credit concentrations or maintain specific capital levels; (iv) interest rate movements and their impact on customer behavior and our net interest margin; (v) less than anticipated loan growth due to a lack of demand for specific loan products, competitive pressures or a dearth of borrowers who meet our underwriting standards; (vi) changes, disruptions or illiquidity in national or global financial markets; (vii) the credit risks of lending activities, including risks that could cause changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and charge-offs or changes in estimates relating to the computation of our allowance for loan losses; (viii) monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Board; (ix) factors affecting our ability to access deposits or cost-effective funding, and the impact of competitors’ pricing initiatives on our deposit products; (x) the impact of new legislation or regulatory changes, including the Dodd-Frank Act, on our products, services, operations and operating expenses; (xi) higher federal deposit insurance premiums; (xii) higher than expected overhead, infrastructure and compliance costs; (xiii) changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; and (xiv) and our failure to achieve expected synergies and cost savings from acquisitions.
These risks and uncertainties, as well as the Risk Factors set forth in Item 1A below, should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement in the future, or to reflect circumstances and events that occur after the date on which the forward-looking statement was made.
BankFinancial Corporation
BankFinancial Corporation, a Maryland corporation headquartered in Burr Ridge, Illinois (the “Company”), became the owner of all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of BankFinancial, F.S.B. (the “Bank”) on June 23, 2005, when we consummated a plan of conversion and reorganization that the Bank and its predecessor holding companies, BankFinancial MHC, Inc. and BankFinancial Corporation, a federal corporation, adopted on August 25, 2004. BankFinancial Corporation, the Maryland corporation, was organized in 2004 to facilitate the mutual-to-stock conversion and to become the holding company for the Bank upon its completion.
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