In addition to the general risks associated with our growth plans highlighted above, acquiring other banks, businesses or branches involves various risks commonly associated with acquisitions, including, among other things: · the time and costs associated with identifying and evaluating potential acquisition and merger targets; · inaccuracies in the estimates and judgments used to evaluate credit, operations, management and market risks with respect to the target institution; · the time and costs of evaluating new markets, hiring experienced local management and opening new bank locations, and the time lags between these activities and the generation of sufficient assets and deposits to support the costs of the expansion; · our ability to finance an acquisition and possible dilution to our existing shareholders; · the diversion of our management’s attention to the negotiation of a transaction; · the incurrence of an impairment of goodwill associated with an acquisition and adverse effects on our results of operations; · entry into new markets where we lack experience; and · risks associated with integrating the operations and personnel of the acquired business in a manner that permits growth opportunities and does not materially disrupt existing customer relationships or result in decreased revenues resulting from any loss of customers.