NYCB 2017 Annual Report

2 • any interruption in customer service due to circumstances beyond our control; • the outcome of pending or threatened litigation, or of matters before regulatory agencies, whether currently existing or commencing in the future; • environmental conditions that exist or may exist on properties owned by, leased by, or mortgaged to the Company; • any interruption or breach of security resulting in failures or disruptions in customer account management, general ledger, deposit, loan, or other systems; • operational issues stemming from, and/or capital spending necessitated by, the potential need to adapt to industry changes in information technology systems, on which we are highly dependent; • the ability to keep pace with, and implement on a timely basis, technological changes; • changes in legislation, regulation, policies, or administrative practices, whether by judicial, governmental, or legislative action, including, but not limited to, the Dodd-Frank Act, and other changes pertaining to banking, securities, taxation, rent regulation and housing, financial accounting and reporting, environmental protection, and insurance, and the ability to comply with such changes in a timely manner; • changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; • changes in accounting principles, policies, practices, or guidelines; • changes in our estimates of future reserves based upon the periodic review thereof under relevant regulatory and accounting requirements; • changes in regulatory expectations relating to predictive models we use in connection with stress testing and other forecasting or in the assumptions on which such modeling and forecasting are predicated; • changes in our credit ratings or in our ability to access the capital markets; • natural disasters, war, or terrorist activities; and • other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory, technological, and geopolitical factors affecting our operations, pricing, and services. In addition, the timing and occurrence or non-occurrence of events may be subject to circumstances beyond our control. Furthermore, we routinely evaluate opportunities to expand through acquisitions and conduct due diligence activities in connection with such opportunities. As a result, acquisition discussions and, in some cases, negotiations, may take place at any time, and acquisitions involving cash or our debt or equity securities may occur. See Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this annual report and in our other SEC filings fo r a further discussion of important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our expectations only as of the date of this report. We do not assume any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.