A WARNING ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the documents that we incorporate by reference, contain or incorporate statements that are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements typically are identified with use of terms such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “could,” “continue” and the negative of these terms and similar words, although some forward-looking statements may be expressed differently. Forward-looking statements also include, but are not limited to, statements regarding plans, objectives, expectations or consequences of announced transactions, known trends and statements about future performance, operations, products and services of the Company and its subsidiaries. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, pandemic is adversely affecting us, our customers, counterparties, employees, and third-party service providers, and the ultimate extent of the impacts on our business, financial position, results of operations, liquidity, and prospects is uncertain. Continued deterioration in general business and economic conditions, including further increases in unemployment rates, or turbulence in domestic or global financial markets could adversely affect our revenues and the values of our assets and liabilities, reduce the availability of funding, lead to a tightening of credit, and further increase stock price volatility. In addition, changes to statutes, regulations, or regulatory policies or practices as a result of, or in response to COVID-19, could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways. Other factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to:
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expected revenues, cost savings, earnings accretion, synergies and other benefits from our merger and acquisition activities might not be realized within the anticipated time frames or at all, and costs or difficulties relating to integration matters, including but not limited to customer and employee retention, might be greater than expected;
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changes in economic conditions, either nationally or in our market areas;
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fluctuations in interest rates;
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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 the allowance for loan losses;
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the possibility of other-than-temporary impairments of securities held in our securities portfolio;
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our ability to access cost-effective funding;
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fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial real estate market conditions;
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the ability to adapt successfully to technological changes to meet customers’ needs and developments in the marketplace;
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the possibility that security measures implemented might not be sufficient to mitigate the risk of a cyber-attack or cyber theft, and that such security measures might not protect against systems failures or interruptions;
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legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect our business, including, without limitation, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and its implementing regulations, the overdraft protection regulations and customers’ responses thereto and the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017;
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changes in accounting policies and practices or accounting standards, including Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, Credit Losses (Topic 326), “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” commonly referenced as the Current Expected Credit Loss model, which, upon adoption, is expected to result in an increase in our allowance for credit losses;
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results of examinations of us by our regulators, including the possibility that the regulators may, among other things, require us to limit our business activities, change our business mix, increase our