3
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations,
estimates and intentions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of
which are beyond our control.
The words “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,”
“anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,”
“target,” “vision,” “goal,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Our actual future results may differ materially from
those set forth in our forward-looking statements.
Our
ability
to
achieve
our
financial
objectives
could
be
adversely
affected
by
the
factors
discussed
in
detail
in
Part
II,
Item
1A.
“Risk
Factors” in
this Quarterly
Report on
Form 10-Q
and in
Part I,
Item 1A.
“Risk Factors”
in our
Annual Report
on Form
10-K/A for
the year
ended December 31,
2023 (the “2023
Form 10-K/A”), as
updated in our
subsequent quarterly reports
filed on Form
10-Q, as well
as, among
other factors:
●
our ability to successfully manage credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and other risks inherent to our industry;
●
legislative or regulatory changes;
●
adverse developments in the financial services industry generally, such as bank failures and any related impact on depositor behavior;
●
the effects of changes in the level of checking or savings account deposits and the competition for deposits on our funding costs, net
interest margin and ability to replace maturing deposits and advances, as necessary;
●
inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations;
●
uncertainty in the pricing of residential mortgage loans that we sell, as well as competition for the mortgage servicing rights related to these
loans and related interest rate risk or price risk resulting from retaining mortgage servicing rights and the potential effects of higher interest
rates on our loan origination volumes;
●
changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government;
●
the effects of security breaches and computer viruses that may affect our computer systems or fraud related to debit card products;
●
the accuracy of our financial statement estimates and assumptions, including the estimates used for our allowance for credit losses,
deferred tax asset valuation and pension plan;
●
changes in our liquidity position;
●
changes in accounting principles, policies, practices or guidelines;
●
the frequency and magnitude of foreclosure of our loans;
●
the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of loan segments, geographic and industry concentrations;
●
the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations;
●
our ability to declare and pay dividends, the payment of which is subject to our capital requirements;
●
changes in the securities and real estate markets;
●
structural changes in the markets for origination, sale and servicing of residential mortgages;
●
our ability to retain key personnel;
●
the effects of natural disasters, harsh weather conditions (including hurricanes), widespread health emergencies (including pandemics, such
as the COVID-19 pandemic), military conflict, terrorism, civil unrest or other geopolitical events;
●
our ability to comply with the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject, including the laws for each jurisdiction where we
operate;
●
the impact of the restatement of our previously issued consolidated statements of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022
and 2023 and for each of the three month periods ended March 31, 2022 and 2023, six month periods ended June 30, 2022 and 2023 and
nine month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2023;
●
any deficiencies in the processes undertaken to effect such restatements and to identify and correct all errors in our historical financial
statements that may require restatement;
●
any inability to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and/or disclosure control or inability to
remediate our existing material weaknesses in our internal controls deemed ineffective;
●
the willingness of clients to accept third-party products and services rather than our products and services and vice versa;
●
increased competition and its effect on pricing;
●
technological changes;
●
the cost and effects of cybersecurity incidents or other failures, interruptions, or security breaches of our systems of those of our customers
or third-party providers;
●
the outcomes of litigation or regulatory proceedings;
●
negative publicity and the impact on our reputation;
●
changes in consumer spending and saving habits;
●
growth and profitability of our noninterest income;
●
the limited trading activity of our common stock;
●
the concentration of ownership of our common stock;
●
anti-takeover provisions under federal and state law as well as our Articles of Incorporation and our Bylaws;
●
other risks described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and
●
our ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing.