“Material Adverse Effect” means, with respect to NYCB, Flagstar or the Surviving Entity, as the case may be, any effect, change, event, circumstance, condition, occurrence or development that, either individually or in the aggregate, has had or could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on (i) the business, properties, assets, liabilities, results of operations or financial condition of such party and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole (provided, however, that, with respect to this clause (i), Material Adverse Effect shall not include the impact of (A) changes, after the date hereof, in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) or applicable regulatory accounting requirements, (B) changes, after the date hereof, in laws, rules or regulations of general applicability (including the Pandemic Measures) to companies in the industries in which such party and its Subsidiaries operate, or interpretations thereof by courts or Governmental Entities, (C) changes, after the date hereof, in global, national or regional political conditions (including the outbreak of war or acts of terrorism) or in economic or market (including equity, credit and debt markets, as well as changes in interest rates and mortgage rates and terms) conditions affecting the industries in which such party or its Subsidiaries operate (including any such changes arising out of the Pandemic or any Pandemic Measures) and not specifically relating to such party or its Subsidiaries, (D) changes, after the date hereof, resulting from hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, floods or other natural disasters or from any epidemic, pandemic, outbreak of any disease or other public health event (including the Pandemic), (E) public disclosure of the execution of this Agreement, public disclosure or consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (including any effect on a party’s relationships with its customers or employees) (it being understood that the foregoing shall not apply for purposes of the representations and warranties in Sections 3.3(b), 3.4, 4.3(b) or 4.4) or actions expressly required by this Agreement or that are taken with the prior written consent of the other party in contemplation of the transactions contemplated hereby, or (F) a decline in the trading price of a party’s common stock or the failure, in and of itself, to meet earnings projections or internal financial forecasts (it being understood that the underlying causes of such decline or failure may be taken into account in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred); except, with respect to subclauses (A), (B), (C) or (D), to the extent that the effects of such change are materially disproportionately adverse to the business, properties, assets, liabilities, results of operations or financial condition of such party and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, as compared to other companies in the financial services sectors in which such party and its Subsidiaries operate, or (ii) the ability of such party to timely consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. As used in this Agreement, “Pandemic” means any outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics relating to SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, or any evolutions or mutations thereof, or any other viruses (including influenza), and the governmental and other responses thereto; “Pandemic Measures” means any quarantine, “shelter in place,” “stay at home,” workforce reduction, social distancing, shut down, closure, sequester, forbearance, moratorium or other laws, directives, policies, guidelines or recommendations promulgated by any Governmental Entity, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, in each case, in connection with or in response to the Pandemic; and “Subsidiary” when used with respect to any person, means any “subsidiary” of such person within the meaning ascribed to such term in either Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the SEC or the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”). True and complete copies of the Flagstar Charter and the Flagstar Bylaws, in each case, as in effect as of the date of this Agreement, have previously been made available by Flagstar to NYCB.   (Page 17)

Question: MAE Definition
Category: Material Adverse Effect
Answer: "Could" (reasonably) be expected to