STI 2018 Annual Report

2 business or suffer margin declines as a result; we continually encounter technological change and must effectively develop and implement new technology; maintaining or increasing market share depends on market acceptance and regulatory approval of new products and services; we have in the past and may in the future pursue acquisitions, which could affect costs and from which we may not be able to realize anticipated benefits; we depend on the expertise of key personnel, and if these individuals leave or change their roles without effective replacements, operations may suffer; we may not be able to hire or retain additional qualified personnel and recruiting and compensation costs may increase as a result of changes in the marketplace, both of which may increase costs and reduce profitability and may adversely impact our ability to implement our business strategies; our framework for managing risks may not be effective in mitigating risk and loss to us; our controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud; we are at risk of increased losses from fraud; our operational or communications systems or infrastructure may fail or may be the subject of a breach or cyber-attack that, if successful, could adversely affect our business or disrupt business continuity; a disruption, breach, or failure in the operational systems or infrastructure of our third party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of cyber-attacks, could adversely affect our business; natural disasters and other catastrophic events could have a material adverse impact on our operations or our financial condition and results; the soundness of other financial institutions could adversely affect us; we depend on the accuracy and completeness of information about clients and counterparties; our accounting policies and processes are critical to howwe report our financial condition and results of operation, and they require management to make estimates about matters that are uncertain; depressed market values for our stock and adverse economic conditions sustained over a period of timemay require us to write down all or some portion of our goodwill; our stock price can be volatile; we might not pay dividends on our stock; our ability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries or other investments could affect our liquidity and ability to pay dividends; and certain banking laws and certain provisions of our articles of incorporation may have an anti-takeover effect.