Company: NWBI
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001471265-25-000016
Chunk: 59

Company: Northwest Bancshares, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 59
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 rely on members of management, including, but not limited to, the CISO, CIO, Chief Operational Risk Management Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Officer, for cybersecurity guidance.  

Our business may be adversely affected by an increasing prevalence of fraud and other financial crimes.

Our loans to businesses and individuals and our deposit relationships and related transactions are subject to exposure to the risk of loss due to fraud and other financial crimes. Incidents of fraud and other financial crimes could also lead to significant reputational risks and other negative effects on our financial condition and results of operations. Nationally, reported incidents of fraud and other financial crimes have increased. We have also experienced losses due to apparent fraud and other financial crimes. While we have policies and procedures designed to prevent such losses, losses may still occur.

Risks Related to Environmental and Other Global Matters

We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with lending activities. 

A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real estate, and we could become subject to environmental liabilities with respect to one or more of these properties. During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing defaulted loans. In doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous conditions or toxic substances are found on these properties, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage, civil fines and criminal penalties regardless of when the hazardous conditions or toxic substances first affected any particular property. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses to address unknown liabilities 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 regulations or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws and regulations may increase our exposure to environmental liability, and heightened pressure from investors and other stakeholders may require to incur additional expenses with respect to environmental matters. Although we have policies and procedures to perform an environmental review before initiating any foreclosure action on nonresidential real property, these reviews may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on us.

A slowdown in economic growth or a resumption of recessionary economic conditions due to global events could have an adverse effect on our business in the future.

The economy is subject to worldwide events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Europe, as well as domestic events, any or all