2 This presentation (including any information incorporated herein by reference), and future oral and written statements of HTLF and its management, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to the business, financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives and future performance of the company.Any statements about the company's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include information about possible or assumed future results of the company's operations or performance. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of words such as ‘‘believe”, “expect’’, “anticipate’’, ‘‘plan”, “intend”, “estimate’’, ‘‘project”, “may”, ‘‘will”, ‘‘would”, ‘‘could”, ‘‘should’’, “view”, “opportunity”, “potential”, or similar or negative expressions of these words or phrases. Although the company may make these statements based on management’s experience, beliefs, expectations, assumptions and best estimate of future events, the ability of the company to predict results or the actual effect or outcomes of plans or strategies is inherently uncertain, and there may be events or factors that management has not anticipated. Therefore, the accuracy and achievement of such forward-looking statements and estimates are subject to a number of risks, many of which are beyond the ability of management to control or predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements. These factors, which the company currently believes could have a material effect on its operations and future prospects, are detailed below and in the risk factors in HTLF's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section under Item 1A of Part I of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, include, among others: COVID-19 Pandemic Risks, including risks related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures enacted by the U.S. federal and state governments and adopted by private businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;Economic and Market Conditions Risks, including risks related to changes in the U.S. economy in general and in the local economies in which HTLF conducts its operations and future civil unrest, natural disasters, terrorist threats or acts of war;Credit Risks, including risks of increasing credit losses due to deterioration in the financial condition of HTLF's borrowers, changes in asset and collateral values and climate and other borrower industry risks which may impact the provision for credit losses and net charge-offs;Liquidity and Interest Rate Risks, including the impact of capital market conditions and changes in monetary policy on our borrowings and net interest income;Operational Risks, including processing, information systems, cybersecurity, vendor, business interruption, and fraud risks;Strategic and External Risks, including competitive forces impacting our business and strategic acquisition risks;Legal, Compliance and Reputational Risks, including regulatory and litigation risks; andRisks of Owning Stock in HTLF, including stock price volatility and dilution as a result of future equity offerings and acquisitions.There can be no assurance that other factors not currently anticipated by HTLF will not materially and adversely affect the company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and may continue to be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of varying governmental responses that affect the company’s customers and the economies where they operate. Additionally, all statements in this presentation, including forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. The company does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions which may be made to or correct or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or to otherwise update any statement in light of new information or future events. Further information concerning HTLF and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the company’s financial results, is included in the company’s filings with the SEC. Safe Harbor Notes Regarding the Use of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresThis presentation contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Management uses these “non-GAAP” measures in its analysis of the HTLF’s performance. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures allow for better comparability of period to period operating performance. Additionally, HTLF believes this information is utilized by regulators and market analysts to evaluate a company’s financial condition and therefore, such information is useful to investors. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures used in this presentation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is provided in the Appendix to this presentation.
