Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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Certain matters discussed in this Form 10-K constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance or business. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact, are based on certain assumptions and are generally identified by use of the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would” and “could.” Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, assumptions and statements about, among other things, expectations of the business environment in which we operate, projections of future performance or financial items, perceived opportunities in the market, potential future credit experience, and statements regarding our mission and vision. These forward-looking statements are based upon current management expectations and may, therefore, involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from those suggested, expressed, or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of a wide variety or range of factors including, but not limited to: changes in economic conditions, either nationally or in our market area;
fluctuations in interest rates;
the risks of lending and investing activities, including changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses;
the possibility of other-than-temporary impairments of securities held in our securities portfolio;
our ability to access cost-effective funding;
fluctuations in the demand for loans, the number of unsold homes, land and other properties, and fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial and multifamily real estate market conditions in our market area;
secondary market conditions for loans and our ability to sell loans in the secondary market;
our ability to attract and retain deposits;
our ability to successfully integrate any assets, liabilities, customers, systems, and management personnel we may acquire into our operations and our ability to realize related revenue synergies and expected cost savings and other benefits within the anticipated time frames or at all,;
legislative or regulatory changes such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and its implementing regulations that adversely affect our business, as well as changes in regulatory policies and principles, or the interpretation of regulatory capital or other rules including changes related to Basel III;
monetary and fiscal policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”) and the U.S. Government and other governmental initiatives affecting the financial services industry;
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results of examinations of Sound Financial Bancorp and Sound Community Bank by their regulators, including the possibility that the regulators may, among other things, require us to increase our allowance for loan losses or to write-down assets, change Sound Community Bank’s regulatory capital position or affect our ability to borrow funds or maintain or increase deposits, which could adversely affect our liquidity and earnings;
increases in premiums for deposit insurance;
our ability to control operating costs and expenses;
the use of estimates in determining fair value of certain of our assets, which estimates may prove to be incorrect and result in significant declines in valuation;
difficulties in reducing risks associated with the loans on our balance sheet;
staffing fluctuations in response to product demand or the implementation of corporate strategies that affect our workforce and potential associated charges;
computer systems on which we depend could fail or experience a security breach;
our ability to retain key members of our senior management team;
costs and effects of litigation, including settlements and judgments;
our ability to implement our business strategies;
increased competitive pressures among financial services companies;
changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits;
the availability of resources to address changes in laws, rules, or regulations or to respond to regulatory actions;
our ability to pay dividends on our common stock;
adverse changes in the securities markets;
the inability of key third-party providers to perform their obligations to us;
changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the financial institution regulatory agencies or the Financial Accounting Standards Board, including additional guidance and interpretation on accounting issues and details of the implementation of new accounting methods; and