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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements about future expectations, activities and events that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of, and subject to the protection of, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future financial and operating performance and growth plans, taking into account the information currently available to us. These statements are not statements of historical fact. The words “believe,” “may,” “forecast,” “should,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “continue,” “would,” “could,” “hope,” “might,” “assume,” “objective,” “seek,” “plan,” “strive” or similar words, or the negatives of these words, identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations of future results we express or imply in any forward-looking statements. In addition to the other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, factors that could contribute to those differences include, but are not limited to:
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our limited operating history;
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the effects of future economic, business and market conditions and changes, domestic and foreign;
changes in the local economies in our market areas adversely affect our customers and their ability to transact profitable business with us, including the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans according to their terms or a change in the value of the related collateral;
changes in the availability of funds resulting in increased costs or reduced liquidity;
a deterioration or downgrade in the credit quality and credit agency ratings of the securities in our securities portfolio;
impairment concerns and risks related to our investment portfolio of collateralized mortgage obligations, agency mortgage-backed securities and pooled trust preferred securities;
the incurrence and possible impairment of goodwill associated with an acquisition and possible adverse short-term effects on our results of operations;
increased credit risk in our assets and increased operating risk caused by a material change in commercial, consumer and/or real estate loans as a percentage of our total loan portfolio;
the concentration of our loan portfolio in loans collateralized by real estate;
our level of construction and land development and commercial real estate loans;
changes in the levels of loan prepayments and the resulting effects on the value of our loan portfolio;
the failure of assumptions and estimates underlying the establishment of and provisions made to the allowance for loan losses;
our ability to expand and grow our business and operations, including the establishment of additional branches and acquisition of additional branches and banks, and our ability to realize the cost savings and revenue enhancements we expect from such activities;
changes in governmental monetary and fiscal policies, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or changes in interest rates and market prices, which could reduce our net interest margins, asset valuations and expense expectations;
increased competition for deposits and loans adversely affecting rates and terms;
the continued service of key management personnel;
the potential payment of interest on demand deposit accounts to effectively compete for customers;
potential environmental liability risk associated with lending activities;
increased asset levels and changes in the composition of assets and the resulting impact on our capital levels and regulatory capital ratios;
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our ability to acquire, operate and maintain cost effective and efficient systems without incurring unexpectedly difficult or expensive but necessary technological changes; and
legislative and regulatory changes, including changes in banking, securities and tax laws and regulations and their application by our regulators, including those associated with the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and changes in the scope and cost of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance and other coverage;
increases in regulatory capital requirements for banking organizations generally, which may adversely affect our ability to expand our business or could cause us to shrink our business;
the effects of war or other conflicts, acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events that may affect general economic conditions;
changes in accounting policies, rules and practices and applications or determinations made thereunder;