International Bancshares (IBOC) Risk Factors

From time to time, we may implement new lines of business or offer new products and services within existing lines of business. In developing and marketing new lines of business and/or new products and services, we may invest significant time and resources. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new lines of business and/or new products may not be achieved and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible. Compliance with regulations, competitive alternatives, and shifting market preferences, may also impact the successful implementation of a new line of business or a new product or service. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or new products or services could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Banking and other financial services companies, including us and our Subsidiary Banks, rely on technology companies to provide information technology products and services necessary to support our day-to-day operations. Technology companies frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. Such claims may increase in the future as the financial services sector becomes more reliant on information technology vendors. The plaintiffs in these actions frequently seek injunctions and substantial damages. Regardless of the scope or validity of such patents or other intellectual property rights, or the merits of any claims by potential or actual litigants, we may have to engage in protracted litigation. Such litigation is often expensive, time-consuming, disruptive to our operations, and distracting to management. If legal matters related to intellectual property claims were resolved against us, we could be required to make payments in amounts that could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We rely heavily on communications and information systems to conduct our business. Our products and services involve the gathering, storage, and transition of sensitive information regarding our customers and their accounts. While we conduct our own data processing, we are reliant on certain external vendors to provide products and services necessary to maintain our day-to-day operations. As a financial institution we are also subject to and examined for compliance with an array of data protection laws, regulations, and guidance, as well as our own internal privacy and information security policies and programs. If our information systems or infrastructure experience a significant disruption or breach, it could lead to unauthorized access to personal or confidential information of our customers in our possession and unauthorized access to our proprietary information, methodologies, and business secrets. Any failure, interruption, or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan, and other systems. In addition, if our partners, vendors, or other market participants experience a disruption or breach, it could lead to unauthorized transactions on our or our customer accounts, or unauthorized access to personal or confidential information maintained by those entities. The occurrence of any failures, interruptions, or security breaches of these information systems could damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose us to civil litigation and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions, we may rely on information furnished by or on behalf of customers and counterparties, including financial statements, credit reports and other financial information. We also rely on representations of those customers, counterparties, financial institutions or other third parties, such as independent auditors, as to the accuracy and completeness of that information. Reliance on inaccurate or misleading financial statements, credit reports or other financial information or problems with the soundness of other financial institutions with which we interact could have a material adverse impact on our business and our financial condition and results of operations.

A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real property. During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing certain loans. There is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous or toxic substances are found, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage. Environmental remediation may require us to incur substantial expenses and may materially reduce the affected property's value or limit our ability to use or sell the affected property. In addition, future laws or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws may increase our exposure to environmental liability. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our success depends, to a certain extent, on local, national, and international economic and political conditions and local, as well as governmental monetary policies. We are particularly affected by conditions in our primary market areas of south, central, and southeast Texas, including Austin, Dallas and Houston, the State of Oklahoma and Mexico. If economic conditions in these market areas weaken or worsen due to a decline in oil prices or other factors, or fail to improve or to continue to improve, we could experience an increase in loan delinquencies and non-performing assets, decreases in loan collateral values and a decrease in demand for our products and services, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Severe weather, natural disasters, pandemics, acts of war or terrorism and other adverse external events could have a significant impact on our ability to conduct business. These events could affect the stability of our deposit base, impair the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans, impair the value of collateral securing loans, cause significant property damage, result in loss of revenue and cause us to incur additional expenses. Although we have established disaster recovery policies and procedures, any such event(s) in, near, or affecting the markets we serve could have a material adverse effect on our business.

A significant portion of our loan portfolio consists of loans secured by real estate located in the markets we serve.  An adverse change in the economy affecting real estate values generally or in our target markets could significantly impair the value of collateral underlying certain of our loans and our ability to sell the collateral at a profit or at all upon foreclosure.

We have experienced substantial growth in assets and deposits, particularly since Dennis E. Nixon became our President in 1979. We do not have an employment agreement with Mr. Nixon and the loss of his services could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.

Decreased market oil prices compress margins for many U.S., Texas, and Oklahoma-based oil producers, particularly those that utilize higher-cost production technologies such as hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling, as well as oilfield service providers, energy equipment manufacturers and transportation suppliers, among others. Energy production and related industries represent a large part of the economies in some of our primary markets. Furthermore, a prolonged period of low oil prices could also have a negative impact on the U.S. economy and, in particular, the economies of energy dominant states such as Texas and Oklahoma. Accordingly, a prolonged period of low oil prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.

We face substantial competition from a variety of different competitors in our market areas, many of which are larger and may have more financial resources. These competitors include national, regional, and community banks within the various markets we serve. We also face competition from many other types of financial institutions, including credit unions, finance companies, brokerage firms, insurance companies, factoring companies, and other financial intermediaries. Many of our competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and lower cost structures, which may allow them to offer better pricing on a broader range of products and services. Also, technology and other changes are allowing parties to complete financial transactions that historically have involved banks through alternative methods. The process of eliminating banks as intermediaries could result in the loss of fee income, as well as the loss of customer deposits and related income. Technology and other changes have lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for non-banks to offer products and traditionally offered by banks. In particular, the activity of financial technology companies (fintechs) has grown significantly over recent years and is expected to continue to grow. Fintechs have and may continue to offer bank or bank-like products and a number of fintechs have applied to bank or industrial loan charters. In addition, other fintechs have partnered with existing banks to allow them to offer deposit products to their customers. The loss of revenue streams and the reduction of lower cost deposits as a source of funds could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A total of five FDIC-insured banks failed between March to November 2023, three of which occurred during a less than two-month period from March to May 2023. The collapse of those banks, coupled with lingering fears of an economic downturn and market instability, have eroded customer confidence in the banking system and caused widespread market volatility among publicly traded bank holding companies. The collapse of those banks, the resulting coverage by media organizations, and the rapid spread through social media of negative sentiments concerning the banking industry have caused customers to doubt the safety and soundness of financial institutions, especially regional and community banks, and created a threat of bank-run contagion. Our reputation and the confidence our customers have in our business may be damaged by adverse publicity and negative information regarding the wider financial-services industry generally. As a result, customers may choose to maintain deposits with larger financial institutions, to remove their deposits from the banking system altogether, or to invest in higher yielding, short-term fixed-income securities, which could adversely impact our liquidity, loan funding capacity, net interest margin, and results of operations. Although we have amplified our efforts to promote deposit insurance coverage with our customers, to proactively communicate with our customers in order to address any depository fears they may be experiencing as a result of the unrelated bank failures, and to implement policies for effectively managing our liquidity, deposit portfolio retention and other related matters, our financial condition, results of operation and stock price may be adversely affected by future negative events within the banking industry and negative customer or investor responses to such events.