Ohio Valley Banc Corp

ITEM 1A RISK FACTORS

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this report and other publicly available documents incorporated herein by reference constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of such words as believes, anticipates, expects, intends, plan, goal, seek, project, estimate, strategy, future, likely, may, should, will, and similar expressions. Such statements involve various important assumptions, risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, particularly with regard to developments related to the current economic and geopolitical landscape, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: the effects of fluctuating interest rates on our customers operations and financial condition; changes in political, economic or other factors, such as inflation rates, recessionary or expansive trends, taxes, the effects of implementation of legislation and the continuing economic uncertainty in various parts of the world; competitive pressures; the level of defaults and prepayment on loans made by the Company; unanticipated litigation, claims, or assessments; fluctuations in the cost of obtaining funds to make loans; and regulatory changes.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements because of various factors and possible events, including those factors identified below. There is also the risk that Ohio Valleys management or Board of Directors incorrectly analyzes these risks and forces, or that the strategies Ohio Valley develops to address them are unsuccessful.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation and disclaims any intention to republish revised or updated forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, unanticipated future events or otherwise. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Ohio Valley or any person acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by the following cautionary statements.

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The following are certain risks that management believes are specific to our business. This should not be viewed as an all-inclusive list of risks or as presenting the risk factors listed in any particular order.

Risks Related to Economic, Political and Market Conditions

Economic, political and market risks could adversely affect our earnings and capital through declines in loan demand, quality of investment securities, our borrowers ability to repay loans, the value of the collateral securing our loans, and deposits.

Our success depends, to a certain extent, upon local and national economic and political conditions, as well as governmental fiscal and monetary policies. Inflation, recession, unemployment, changes in interest rates, fiscal and monetary policy, tariffs, a United States withdrawal from a significant renegotiation of trade agreements, trade wars, and other factors beyond our control may adversely affect our deposit levels and composition, the quality of our assets including investment securities available for purchase, and the demand for loans, which, in turn, may adversely affect our earnings and capital. Recent political developments have resulted in substantial changes in economic and political conditions for the United States and the remainder of the world. Adverse changes in the economy may also have a negative effect on the ability of our borrowers to make timely repayments of their loans, which would have an adverse impact on our earnings and cash flows.

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In addition, consistent with our community banking philosophy, substantially all of our loans are to individuals and businesses in Ohio and West Virginia. Therefore, our local and regional economies have a direct impact on our ability to generate deposits to support loan growth, the demand for loans, the ability of borrowers to repay loans, the value of collateral securing our loans (particularly loans secured by real estate), and our ability to collect, liquidate and restructure problem loans. Consequently, any decline in the economy of this market area could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We are less able than larger financial institutions to spread risks of unfavorable local economic conditions across a large number of diversified economies.

Our earnings are significantly affected by the fiscal and monetary policies of the United States Government and its agencies, sometimes adversely.

 The policies of the Federal Reserve Board impact us significantly, especially given the current economic and geopolitical landscape. The Federal Reserve Board regulates the supply of money and credit in the United States. Its policies directly and indirectly influence the rate of interest earned on loans and paid on borrowings and interest-bearing deposits and can also affect the value of financial instruments we hold. Those policies determine to a significant extent our cost of funds for lending and investing. Changes in those policies are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Federal Reserve Board policies can also affect our borrowers, potentially increasing the risk that they may fail to repay their loans. For example, a tightening of the money supply by the Federal Reserve Board could reduce the demand for a borrowers products and services. This could adversely affect the borrowers earnings and ability to repay its loan, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our earnings depend substantially on our interest rate spread, which is the difference between (i) the rates we earn on loans, securities and other earning assets and (ii) the interest rates we pay on deposits and other borrowings. These rates are highly sensitive to many factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions and the policies of various governmental and regulatory authorities (in particular, the Federal Reserve Board). While we have taken measures intended to manage the risks of operating in a changing interest rate environment, there can be no assurance that such measures will be effective in avoiding undue interest rate risk. As market interest rates rise, we will have competitive pressures to increase the rates we pay on deposits, which will result in a decrease of our net interest income and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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In addition to the effect of changes in interest rates on our interest rate spread, changes in interest rates may negatively affect the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans, particularly as interest rates have been rising and adjustable-rate debt becomes more expensive. Increased defaults on loans could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Adverse changes in the financial markets may adversely impact our results of operations.
 

The capital and credit markets have been experiencing unprecedented levels of volatility in recent years. While we generally invest in securities with limited credit risk, certain investment securities we hold possess higher credit risk since they represent beneficial interests in structured investments collateralized by residential mortgages. Regardless of the level of credit risk, all investment securities are subject to changes in market value due to changing interest rates and implied credit spreads.
 

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Structured investments have at times been subject to significant market volatility due to the uncertainty of credit ratings, deterioration in credit losses occurring within certain types of residential mortgages, changes in prepayments of the underlying collateral and the lack of transparency related to the investment structures and the collateral underlying the structured investment vehicles.

A default by another larger financial institution could adversely affect financial markets generally.

Many financial institutions and their related operations are closely intertwined, and the soundness of such financial institutions may, to some degree, be interdependent. As a result, concerns about, or a default or threatened default by, one institution could lead to significant market-wide liquidity and credit problems, losses or defaults by other institutions. This systemic risk may adversely affect our business.

Risks Related to Our Business

We operate in an extremely competitive market, and our business will suffer if we are unable to compete effectively.

In our market area, we encounter significant competition from other commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, securities brokerage firms, insurance companies, money market mutual funds and other financial institutions. The increasingly competitive environment is a result primarily of changes in regulation, changes in technology and product delivery systems and the accelerating pace of consolidation among financial service providers. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources and lending limits than we do and may offer services that we do not or cannot provide. Technology and other changes are allowing parties to complete financial transactions that historically have involved banks at one or both ends of the transaction. For example, consumers can now pay bills and transfer funds directly without banks. The process of eliminating banks as intermediaries could result in the loss of fee income, as well as the loss of customer deposits and income generated from those deposits. In addition, technological advancements allow parties to better serve customers, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. Our ability to maintain our history of strong financial performance and return on investment to shareholders will depend, in part, on our ability to use technology to deliver products and services that provide convenience to customers and to create additional efficiencies in our operations.

Our small to medium-sized business target market may have fewer financial resources to weather a downturn in the economy.

We target our business development and marketing strategy largely to serve the banking and financial services needs of small to medium-sized businesses. These small to medium-sized businesses generally have fewer financial resources in terms of capital or borrowing capacity than larger companies. If general economic conditions negatively impact our primary Ohio and West Virginia markets or the other geographic markets in which we operate, our results of operations and financial condition may be negatively affected.

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Our business strategy includes growth plans. Our financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected if we fail to grow or fail to manage our growth effectively.

We intend to continue pursuing a profitable growth strategy. Our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in significant growth stages of development. We cannot assure you that we will be able to expand our market presence in our existing markets or successfully enter new markets or that any such expansion will not adversely affect our results of operations. Failure to manage our growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, future prospects, financial condition or results of operations and could adversely affect our ability to successfully implement our business strategy. Also, if we grow more slowly than anticipated, our operating results could be materially adversely affected.

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Our ability to grow successfully will depend on a variety of factors, including the continued availability of desirable business opportunities, the competitive responses from other financial institutions in our market areas, our ability to raise sufficient capital and our ability to manage our growth. While we believe we have the management resources and internal systems in place to successfully manage our future growth, there can be no assurance growth opportunities will be available or growth will be successfully managed.

We may acquire other financial institutions or parts of institutions in the future and may open new branches. We also may consider and enter into new lines of business or offer new products or services. Expansions of our business involve a number of expenses and risks, including:

We may incur substantial costs to expand, and we can give no assurance that such expansion will result in the levels of profits we expect. Neither can we assure that integration efforts for any future acquisitions will be successful. We may issue equity securities in connection with acquisitions, which could dilute the economic and voting interests of our existing shareholders. We may also lose customers as we close one or more branches as part of a plan to expand into other areas or become more productive from other branches.

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Failure to integrate or adopt new technology may undermine our ability to meet customer demands, leading to adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations.

The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers while reducing costs. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to address customer needs by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Digital or cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and other fintech technologies are being developed to change the way banks operate and are eliminating the need for banks as financial deposit-keepers and intermediaries. We may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological changes affecting the financial services industry could negatively affect our growth, revenue and profit.

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Periodic regulatory reviews may affect our operations and financial condition.

We are subject to periodic reviews from state and federal regulators, which may impact our operations and our financial condition. As part of the regulatory review, the financial assets measured at amortized cost (loan portfolios and securities), off-balance sheet credit exposures, and the allowance for loancredit losses are evaluated. As a result, the incurexpected credit loss identified on loans, or the assigned loan rating could change and may require us to increase our provision for loancredit losses or loan charge-offs. I. This could be impacted by increases in addition, any downgrade in loan ratings could impact our level of impaired loans or classified assetsset risk coming from declines in asset quality, loan loss experience, and other relevant economic factors. Any increase in our provisionallowance for loancredit losses or loan charge-offs as as required by these regulatory authorities could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Findings of deficiencies in compliance with regulations could result in restrictions on our activities or even a loss in our financial holding company status.

Our exposure to credit risk could adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.

Making loans carries inherent risks, including interest rate changes over the time period in which loans may be repaid, risks resulting from changes in the economy, risks that we will have inaccurate or incomplete information about borrowers, risks that borrowers will become unable to repay loans; and, in the case of loans secured by collateral, risks resulting from uncertainties about the future value of the collateral.

Commercial and commercial real estate loans comprise a significant portion of our loan portfolio. Commercial loans generally are viewed as having a higher credit risk than residential real estate or consumer loans because they usually involve larger loan balances to a single borrower and are more susceptible to a risk of default during an economic downturn. Since our loan portfolio contains a significant number of commercial and commercial real estate loans, the deterioration of one or a few of these loans could cause a significant increase in nonperforming loans, and ultimately could have a material adverse effect on our earnings and financial condition. We may also have concentrated credit exposure to a particular industry, resulting in a risk of a material adverse effect on our earnings or financial condition if there is an event adversely affecting that industry.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with customers and counterparties, we may rely on information provided to us by customers and counterparties, including financial statements and other financial information. We may also rely on representations of customers and counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information and, with respect to financial statements, on reports of independent auditors. For example, in deciding whether to extend credit to a business, we may assume that the customers audited financial statements conform with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and present fairly, in all material respects, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the customer. We may also rely on the audit report covering those financial statements. Our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted to the extent that we rely on financial statements that do not comply with GAAP or on financial statements and other financial information that are materially misleading.

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We may be required to repurchase loans we have sold or indemnify loan purchasers under the terms of the sale agreements, which could adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.

When the Bank sells a mortgage loan, it agrees to repurchase or substitute a mortgage loan if it is later found to have breached any representation or warranty the Bank made about the loan or if the borrower is later found to have committed fraud in connection with the origination of the loan. While we have underwriting policies and procedures designed to avoid breaches of representations and warranties as well as borrower fraud, we cannot give assurance that no breach or fraud will ever occur. Required repurchases, substitutions or indemnifications could have an adverse effect on our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.

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If our actual loan losses exceed our allowance for credit losses, our net income will decrease.

Our loan customers may not repay their loans according to their terms, and the collateral securing the payment of these loans may be insufficient to pay any remaining loan balance. We may experience significant loan losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. In accordance with GAAP, we maintain an allowance for credit losses to provide for loan defaults and non-performance, which when combined, we refer to as the allowance for credit losses. Our allowance for credit losses may not be adequate to cover actual credit losses, and future provisions for credit losses could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. Our allowance for credit losses is based upon a number of relevant factors, including, but not limited to, trends in the level of nonperforming assets and classified loans, current economic conditions in the primary lending area, prior experience, possible losses arising from specific problem loans, and our evaluation of the risks in the current portfolio. The amount of future losses is susceptible to changes in economic, operating and other conditions, including changes in interest rates that may be beyond our control, and these losses may exceed current estimates. Federal regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, review our loans and allowance for credit losses. Moreover, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has changed its requirements for establishing the allowance, which was effective for us in the first quarter of 2023. We cannot assure you that we will not further increase the allowance for credit losses or that regulators will not require us to increase this allowance. Either of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Failures of, or material breaches in security of, our systems or those of third-party service providers may have a material adverse effect on our business.

Operational system failures and service interruptions. We collect, process and store sensitive consumer data by utilizing computer systems and telecommunications networks operated by both us and third-party service providers. Our dependence upon automated systems to record and process the Banks transactions poses the risk that technical system flaws, employee errors, tampering or manipulation of those systems, or attacks by third parties will result in losses and may be difficult to detect. Our inability to use these information systems at critical points in time could unfavorably impact the timeliness and efficiency of our business operations. In recent years, some banks have experienced denial of service attacks in which individuals or organizations flood the bank's website with extraordinarily high volumes of traffic, with the goal and effect of disrupting the ability of the bank to process transactions. 

Third-party service provider and vendor risks. We could also be adversely affected if one of our employees or a third-party service provider causes a significant operational break-down or failure, either as a result of human error or where an individual purposefully sabotages or fraudulently manipulates our operations or systems. We are further exposed to the risk that third-party service providers may be unable to fulfill their contractual obligations or will be affected by the same risks as the Bank has. These disruptions may interfere with service to the Banks customers, cause additional regulatory scrutiny and result in a financial loss or liability. We are also at risk of the impact of natural disasters, terrorism, and international hostilities on our systems or for the effects of outages or other failures involving power or communications systems operated by others.

 Further, we may be affected by data breaches at retailers and other third parties who participate in data interchanges with us and our customers that involve the theft of customer credit and debit card data, which may include the theft of our debit card PIN numbers and commercial card information used to make purchases at such retailers and other third parties. Such data breaches could result in us incurring significant expenses to reissue debit cards and cover losses, which could result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

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Employees coul errors, misconduct, and fraud. Employees could engage in fraudulent, improper, or unauthorized activities on behalf of clients or improper use of confidential information. We may not be able to prevent employee errors or misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect this type of activity might not be effective in all cases. Employee errors or misconduct could subject us to civil claims for negligence or regulatory enforcement actions, including fines and restrictions on our business.

In addition, there have been instances where financial institutions have been victims of fraudulent activity in which criminals pose as customers to initiate wire and automated clearinghouse transactions out of customer accounts. Although we have policies and procedures in place to verify the authenticity of our customers, we cannot assure that such policies and procedures will prevent all fraudulent transfers. Such activity can result in financial liability and harm to our reputation.

Cyber-attacks and data security breaches. Management cannot be certain that the security controls we have adopted will prevent unauthorized access to our computer systems or those of our third-party service providers, whom we require to maintain similar controls. A security breach of the computer systems and loss of confidential information, such as customer account numbers or personal information, could result in a loss of customers confidence and, thus, loss of business. In addition, unauthorized access to or use of sensitive data could subject us to litigation and liability and costs to prevent further such occurrences.

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Further, we may be affected by data breaches at retailers and other third parties who participate in data interchanges with us and our customers that involve the theft of customer credit and debit card data, which may include the theft of our debit card PIN numbers and commercial card information used to make purchases at such retailers and other third parties. Such data breaches could result in us incurring significant expenses to reissue debit cards and cover losses, which could result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our assets at risk for cyber-attacks include financial assets and non-public information belonging to customers. We use several third-party vendors who have access to our assets via electronic media. Certain cyber security risks arise due to this access, including cyber espionage, blackmail, ransom, and theft. As cyber and other data security threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify and enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any security vulnerabilities.

Our ability to pay cash dividends is limited, and we may be unable to pay cash dividends in the future even if we would like to do so.

We are dependent primarily upon the earnings of our operating subsidiaries for funds to pay dividends on our common stock. The payment of dividends by us is also subject to certain regulatory restrictions. As a result, any payment of dividends in the future will be dependent, in large part, on our ability to satisfy these regulatory restrictions and our subsidiaries earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors. Although our financial earnings and financial condition have allowed us to declare and pay periodic cash dividends to our shareholders, there can be no assurance that our dividend policy or the size of dividend distribution will continue in the future, even if we are able to pay dividends. Our failure to pay dividends on our common shares could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common shares.

The loss of key members of our senior management team could adversely affect our business.

We believe that our success depends largely on the efforts and abilities of our senior management. Their experience and industry contacts significantly benefit us. In addition, our success depends in part upon senior managements ability to implement our business strategy. The competition for qualified personnel in the financial services industry is intense, and the loss of services of any of our senior executive officers or an inability to continue to attract, retain and motivate key personnel could adversely affect our business. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our existing key personnel or attract additional qualified personnel.

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Loss of key employees may disrupt relationships with certain customers.

Our business is primarily relationship-driven in that many of our key employees have extensive customer relationships. Loss of a key employee with such customer relationships may lead to the loss of business if the customers were to follow that employee to a competitor. While we believe we have strong relationships with our key producers, we cannot guarantee that all of our key personnel will remain with our organization. Loss of such key personnel, should they enter into an employment relationship with one of our competitors, could result in the loss of some of our customers.

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If we foreclose on collateral property and own the underlying real estate, we may be subject to the increased costs associated with the ownership of real property, resulting in reduced revenue.

We may have to foreclose on collateral property to protect our investment and may thereafter own and operate such property, in which case we will be exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of real estate. The amount that we, as a mortgagee, may realize after a default is dependent upon factors outside of our control, including, but not limited to: (i) general or local economic conditions; (ii) neighborhood values; (iii) interest rates; (iv) real estate tax rates; (v) operating expenses of the mortgaged properties; (vi) supply of and demand for rental units or properties; (vii) ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties; (viii) zoning laws; (ix) governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; and (x) acts of God. Certain expenditures associated with the ownership of real estate, principally real estate taxes and maintenance costs, may adversely affect the income from the real estate. Therefore, the cost of operating a real property may exceed the rental income earned from such property, and we may have to advance funds in order to protect our investment, or we may be required to dispose of the real property at a loss. We may also acquire properties with hazardous substances that must be removed or remediated, the costs of which could be substantial, and we may not be able to recover such costs from the responsible parties. The foregoing expenditures and costs could adversely affect our ability to generate revenues, resulting in reduced levels of profitability.

A limited trading market exists for our common shares, which could lead to price volatility.

Your ability to sell or purchase our common shares depends upon the existence of an active trading market for our common shares. Although our common shares are quoted on The NASDAQ Global Market, the volume of trades on any given day has been limited historically. As a result, you may be unable to sell or purchase our common shares at the volume, price and time that you desire. Additionally, a fair valuation of the purchase or sales price of our common shares also depends upon an active trading market, and thus the price you receive for a thinly-traded stock such as our common shares may not reflect its true value. The limited trading market for our common shares may cause fluctuations in the market value of our common shares to be exaggerated, leading to price volatility in excess of that which would occur in a more active trading market.

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and have an adverse impact on our earnings and financial condition.

Our primary funding and liquidity source to support our business strategies is a stable customer deposit base. Deposit levels may be affected by a number of factors, including interest rates paid by competitors, general interest rate levels, returns available to customers on alternative investments, banking industry conditions that can impact customers perceptions of the safety and soundness of the banking industry generally or of specific financial institutions, and general economic conditions. If on addition, a significant portion of our deposit levels falls are not insured above applicable FDIC limits. Uninsured depositors, including certain commercial and publicsector depositors, may be more likely to withdraw funds rapidly in response to adverse news about us or the banking industry generally, or in response to perceived or actual market stress. Rapid or unexpected withdrawals of uninsured deposits could materially increase our funding costs or adversely affect our liquidity position and financial condition. If our deposit levels fall, we could lose a relatively low-cost source of funding, and our interest expense would likely increase as we obtain alternative funding to replace lost deposits. If local customer deposits are not sufficient to fund our normal operations and growth, we will look to outside sources, such as lines of credit with both the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati (FHLB) and FRB, brokered CDs, a federal funds line with a correspondent bank, and available funds from select deposit placement services. Although the Bank has historically been able to replace maturing deposits and advances, no assurance can be given that the Bank would be able to replace such funds in the future if our financial condition were to change. If we are required to rely more heavily on more expensive funding sources to support asset growth, our revenues may not increase proportionately to cover our costs, which would have a negative impact to profitability and the net interest margin.

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Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Accounting Changes

New laws and increased regulatory oversight may significantly affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The financial services industry is extensively regulated. We are subject to extensive state and federal regulation, supervision and legislation that govern almost all aspects of our operations. Laws and regulations may change from time to time and are primarily intended for the protection of consumers, depositors, borrowers, the DIF and the banking system as a whole, and not to benefit our shareholders. Regulations affecting banks and financial services businesses are undergoing continuous changes, and management cannot predict the effect of these changes. The impact of any changes to laws and regulations or other actions by regulatory agencies may negatively impact us and our ability to increase the value of our business, possibly limiting the services we provide, increasing the potential for competition from non-banks, or requiring us to change the way we operate.

Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the imposition of restrictions on the operation of an institution, the classification of assets held by an institution, the adequacy of an institutions allowance for loancredit losses and the ability to complete acquisitions. Additionally, actions by regulatory agencies against us could cause us to devote significant time and resources to defending our business and may lead to penalties that materially affect us and our shareholders. Even the reduction of regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on us and our shareholders if such lessening of restrictions increases competition within our industry or market area.

Changes in accounting standards, policies, estimates or procedures could impact our reported financial condition or results of operations.

Entities that set generally applicable accounting standards, such as the FASBinancial Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory boards, periodically change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. These changes can be difficult to predict and can materially affect how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, which would result in the restatement of our financial statements for prior periods.

Managements accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Our management must exercise judgment in selecting and applying many of these accounting policies and methods in order to ensure that they comply with GAAP and reflect managements judgment as to the most appropriate manner in which to record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, management must select the accounting policy or method to apply from two or more alternatives, any of which might be reasonable under the circumstances yet might result in reporting materially different amounts than would have been reported under a different alternative.

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Management has identified several accounting policies that are considered significant (one as being critical) to the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations because they require management to make particularly subjective and/or complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because of the likelihood that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. Because of the inherent uncertainty of estimates about these matters, no assurance can be given that the application of alternative policies or methods might not result in our reporting materially different amounts.

General Risk Factors

We may be the subject of litigation and other actions, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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From time to time, we may be subject to a variety of litigation arising out of our business. The risk of litigation increases in times of increased troubled loan collection activity. Our insurance may not cover all claims that may be asserted against us, and any claims asserted against us, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, may harm our reputation. Should the ultimate judgments or settlements in any litigation exceed our insurance coverage, they could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, we may not be able to obtain appropriate types or levels of insurance in the future or obtain adequate replacement policies with acceptable terms.

We are at risk of increased losses from fraud.

Criminals are committing fraud at an increasing rate and are using more sophisticated techniques. In some cases, these individuals are part of larger criminal rings, which allow them to be more effective. Such fraudulent activity has taken many forms, ranging from debit card fraud, check fraud, wire fraud, mechanical devices attached to ATM machines, social engineering and phishing attacks to obtain personal information, or impersonation of clients through the use of falsified or stolen credentials. Additionally, an individual or business entity may properly identify itself, yet seek to establish a business relationship for the purpose of perpetrating fraud. An emerging type of fraud even involves the creation of synthetic identification in which fraudsters "create" individuals for the purpose of perpetrating fraud. Further, in addition to fraud committed directly against us, we may suffer losses as a result of fraudulent activity committed against third parties. Increased deployment of technologies, such as chip card technology, defray and reduce certain aspects of fraud; however, criminals are turning to other sources to steal personally identifiable information, such as unaffiliated healthcare providers and government entities, in order to impersonate the consumer and thereby commit fraud.