The following charts present the compositions of our CRE and commercial non-real estate loan portfolios, aggregated by customer exposure as of September 30, 2018,2019, which are diversified across loan sizes.

We have historically invested excess deposits in high-quality, liquid investment securities including residential agency mortgage-backed securities and, to a lesser extent, U.S. Treasury securities, corporate debt securities and securities issued by U.S. states and political subdivisions. Our investment portfolio serves as a means to collateralize FHLB borrowings and public funds deposits, to earn net spread income on excess deposits and to maintain liquidity and balance interest rate risk.

Our goal of increasing our share of financial services in our market areas is driven by a technology, marketing, communication and sales strategy which aims to strengthen the bank brand and generate public awareness through innovative marketing and public relations initiatives leveraging both traditional and emerging social media channels in new ways to advance the brand and create meaningful connections with existing and potential customers. We believe strongly that by leading with a culture of service, we will have more opportunity to provide our products and services and to create deeper customer relationships. A successful marketing program will attract customers to visit our Bank. Combined with aOur highly tuned service environment and well-trained associates, this leads to our strong service culture and isare a key element in our ability to attract both talented associates and loyal customers.

We believe risk management is another core competency of our business. As we have grown, our risk team and its capabilities have expanded. Our risk management consists of comprehensive policies and processes and seeks to emphasize personal ownership and accountability for risk with all our employees. We expect our people to focus on managing our risks, and we support this with appropriate oversight and governance and a framework based on three lines of defense (including an internal audit team who report directly to the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors). We delegate authority for our risk management oversight and governance to a number of executive and senior management committees, each responsible for overseeing various aspects of our risk management process. Various board committees, including the Risk Committee of our Board of Directors, provide oversight over our risk management function. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act was enacted in May 2018 and provides certain regulatory relief with respect to non-bank financial companies supervised by the Federal Reserve and certain bank holding companies, by, among other things, increasing the asset threshold for mandatory risk committees from $10 billion to $50 billion in total assets. Our assets do not exceed $50 billion, but in the interests of good corporate governance, risk management and oversight, we believe it is extremely important to maintain and continue our Risk Committee of the Board of Directors.

Our risk framework is structured to guide decisions regarding the appropriate balance between risk and return considerations in our business. Our risk framework is informed by our strategy, risk appetite and financial plans approved by our Board of Directors. This framework includes risk policies, procedures, limits, targets and reporting. Our Board of Directors approves our stated risk appetites, which set forth the amount and type of risk we are willing to accept in pursuit of our strategy, business and financial objectives. Our risk appetites provide the context for our risk management tools, including, among others, risk policies, delegated authorities, limits, portfolio composition, underwriting standards and operational processes.

Operational risk is the risk of loss arising from inadequate or failed processes, people or systems, external events (such as natural disasters), compliance failures, reputational damage or legal matters. We have a framework in place that includes the reporting and assessment of any operational risk events, including narrowly avoided operational risk events, and the assessment of our mitigating strategies within our key business lines. This framework is implemented through our policies, processes and reporting requirements, including those governing business and information technology continuity, information security and cyber-security, technological capability, fraud-risk management, operational risk profiling and vendor management. Our operational risk review process is a core part of our assessment of any material new or modified business or support initiative.

The financial services industry and each of the markets in which we operate in particular are highly competitive. We face strong competition in gathering deposits, making loans and obtaining client assets for management by our investment or trust operations. We compete for deposits and loans by seeking to provide a higher level of personal service than is generally offered by our larger competitors, many of whom have more assets, capital and resources and higher lending limits than we do and may be able to conduct more intensive and broader based promotional efforts to reach both commercial and retail customers. We also compete based on advertising impact and interest rates. Our principal competitors for deposits, loans and client assets for management by our investment or trust operations include large nationwide banks such as U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America and various other nationwide, regional and community banks, operating in our markets.savings banks and associations, credit unions, mutual fund companies, insurance companies, factoring companies and other non-bank financial companies. Some of these competitors are local, while others are statewide or national.

In the highly competitive banking industry in which we operate, intellectual property is important to the success of our business. We own a variety of trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos and spend time and resources maintaining this intellectual property portfolio. We control access to our intellectual property through license agreements, confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employment agreements and other contractual rights to protect our intellectual property.

We devote significant resources to maintain stable, reliable, efficient and scalable information technology systems. We utilize a single, highly integrated core processing system from a third party vendor across our business that improves cost efficiency and acquisition integration. As advantageous, we work with our third party vendors to maximize the efficiency of our use of their applications. We use integrated systems to originate and process loans and deposit accounts, which reduces processing time, improves customer experience and reduces costs. Most customer records are maintained digitally. During fiscal year 2018,2019, we have continued our commitment to execute oninvestment in information security and improved our digital banking and cash management banking services initiatives and have implemented a new consumer online account opening service to continuefunctionality to enhance the overall client experience.

We and our subsidiaries are subject to extensive regulation under federal and state banking laws that establish a comprehensive framework for our operations. This framework may materially impact our growth potential and financial performance and is intended primarily for the protection of depositors, customers, federal deposit insurance funds and the banking system as a whole, not for the protection of our stockholders and creditors. Significant elements of the statutes, regulations and policies applicable to us and our subsidiaries are described below. This description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the statutes, regulations and policies described.

We are a bank holding company under the BHC Act. Consequently, we and our subsidiaries are subject to supervision, regulation and examination by the Federal Reserve. The BHC Act provides generally for "umbrella" regulation of bank holding companies and functional regulation of holding company subsidiaries by applicable regulatory agencies. We are also subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Exchange Act administered by the SEC, and, following the listing of our common stock, the rules adopted by the NYSE, applicable to listed companies.

In general, the BHC Act limits the business of bank holding companies to banking, managing or controlling banks and other activities that the Federal Reserve has determined to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto.

As a South Dakota-chartered commercial bank, our Bank’s business is generally limited to activities permitted by South Dakota law and any applicable federal laws. Under the South Dakota Codified Law, our Bank may generally engage in all usual banking activities, including taking commercial and savings deposits; lending money on personal and real security; issuing letters of credit; buying, discounting, and negotiating promissory notes, bonds, drafts and other forms of indebtedness; buying and selling currency and, subject to certain limitations, certain investment securities; engaging in all facets of the insurance business; and maintaining safe deposit boxes on premises. Subject to prior approval by the Director of the SD Division of Banking, our Bank may also permissibly engage in any activity permissible as of January 1, 2008 for a national bank doing business in South Dakota.

The BHC Act, the Bank Merger Act, the South Dakota Codified Law and other federal and state statutes regulate acquisitions of commercial banks and other FDIC-insured depository institutions. We must obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before (i) acquiring more than 5% of the voting stock of any FDIC-insured depository institution or other bank holding company (other than directly through our Bank), (ii) acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of any bank or bank holding company or (iii) merging or consolidating with any other bank holding company. Under the Bank Merger Act, the prior approval of the FDIC is required for our Bank to merge with another bank or purchase all or substantially all of the assets or assume any of the deposits of another FDIC-insured depository institution. In reviewing applications seeking approval of merger and acquisition transactions, bank regulators consider, among other things, the competitive effect and public benefits of the transactions, the capital position and managerial resources of the combined organization, the risks to the stability of the U.S. banking or financial system, the applicant’s performance record under the CRA, the applicant’s compliance with fair housing and other consumer protection laws and the effectiveness of all organizations involved in combating money laundering activities. In addition, failure to implement or maintain adequate compliance programs could cause bank regulators not to approve an acquisition where regulatory approval is required or to prohibit an acquisition even if approval is not required.

Our Company is a legal entity separate and distinct from its banking and other subsidiaries. As a bank holding company, we are subject to certain restrictions on our ability to pay dividends under applicable banking laws and regulations. Federal bank regulators are authorized to determine under certain circumstances relating to the financial condition of a bank holding company or a bank that the payment of dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice and to prohibit payment thereof. In particular, federal bank regulators have stated that paying dividends that deplete a banking organization’s capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice and that banking organizations should generally pay dividends only out of current operating earnings. In addition, in the current financial and economic environment, the Federal Reserve has indicated that bank holding companies should carefully review their dividend policy and has discouraged payment ratios that are at maximum allowable levels unless both asset quality and capital are very strong.

Transactions between our Bank and its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and our Company or any other subsidiary, on the other hand, are regulated under Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act. The Federal Reserve Act imposes quantitative and qualitative requirements and collateral requirements on covered transactions by our Bank with, or for the benefit of, its affiliates. Generally, Sections 23A and 23B limit the extent to which our Bank or its subsidiaries may engage in "covered transactions" with any one affiliate to an amount equal to 10% of our Bank's capital stock and surplus, and contain an aggregate limit on all such transactions with all affiliates to an amount equal to 20% of such capital stock and surplus, and requires those transactions to be on terms at least as favorable to our Bank as if the transaction were conducted with an unaffiliated third party. Covered transactions are defined by statute to include a loan or extension of credit, as well as a purchase of securities issued by an affiliate, a purchase of assets (unless otherwise exempted by the Federal Reserve) from the affiliate, certain derivative transactions that create a credit exposure to an affiliate, the acceptance of securities issued by the affiliate as collateral for a loan, and the issuance of a guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit on behalf of an affiliate. In addition, any credit transactions with an affiliate must be secured by designated amounts of specified collateral.

Federal Reserve policy and federal law require bank holding companies to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to their subsidiary banks. Under this requirement, we are expected to commit resources to support our Bank, including at times when we may not be in a financial position to provide such resources, and it may not be in our, or our stockholders’ or creditors’, best interests to do so. In addition, any capital loans we make to our Bank are subordinate in right of payment to depositors and to certain other indebtedness of our Bank. In the event of our bankruptcy, any commitment by us to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of our Bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment.

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, national and state-chartered banks, such as our Bank, may open an initial branch in a state other than its home state (e.g., a host state) by establishing a de novo branch at any location in such host state at which a bank chartered in such host state could establish a branch. Applications to establish such branches must still be filed with the appropriate primary federal regulator and, where applicable, the bank's state regulatory authority. As our Bank is a South Dakota state chartered bank, we are required to file branch applications with both the FDIC and the SD Division of Banking.

Banks are subject to the prohibitions of 12 U.S.C. Section 1972 on certain tying arrangements. We are prohibited, subject to some exceptions, from extending credit to or offering any other service, or fixing or varying the consideration for such extension of credit or service, on the condition that the customer obtain some additional service from the institution or its affiliates or not obtain services of a competitor of the institution.

Under the CRA, our Bank has an obligation, consistent with safe and sound operations, to help meet the credit needs of the market areas where it operates, which includes providing credit to low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. In connection with its examination of our Bank, the FDIC is required to assess our Bank’s compliance with the CRA. Our Bank’s failure to comply with the CRA could, among other things, result in the denial or delay in certain corporate applications filed by us or our Bank, including applications for branch openings or relocations and applications to acquire, merge or consolidate with another banking institution or holding company. Our Bank received an overall rating of "satisfactory" in its most recently completed CRA examination.

Congress may enact legislation from time to time that affects the regulation of the financial services industry, and state legislatures may enact legislation from time to time affecting the regulation of financial institutions chartered by or operating in those states. Federal and state regulatory agencies also periodically propose and adopt changes to their regulations or change the manner in which existing regulations are applied. The substance or impact of pending or future legislation or regulation, or the application thereof, cannot be predicted, although enactment of the proposed legislation could impact the regulatory structure under which we operate and may significantly increase our costs, impede the efficiency of our internal business processes, require us to increase our regulatory capital and modify our business strategy, and limit our ability to pursue business opportunities in an efficient manner. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may be adversely affected, perhaps materially, as a result.

Under federal law, depositors (including the FDIC with respect to the subrogated claims of insured depositors) and certain claims for administrative expenses of the FDIC as receiver would be afforded a priority over other general unsecured claims against such an institution in the "liquidation or other resolution" of such an institution by any receiver.

The federal bank regulators have adopted rules limiting the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose non-public information about consumers to unaffiliated third parties. As a financial institution, our internal systems and vendor-outsourced storage solutions contain a significant amount of sensitive data, including personal information, related to our customers. We are therefore subject to compliance obligations under federal and state information security laws, among others, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which institute limitations on data sharing. These limitations require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to an unaffiliated third party. These regulations affect how consumer information is transmitted through diversified financial companies and conveyed to outside vendors. We are also subject to various regulatory guidance as updated from time to time and implemented by the FFIEC, an interagency body of the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration and various state regulatory authorities. FFIEC guidance is provided in areas such as data privacy, disaster recovery, information security, and third party vendor management to identify potential risks related to our services that could adversely affect our banking and financial services clients. There have been increased public attention regarding the use of personal information, accompanied by legislation and regulations intended to strengthen data protection, information security and consumer and personal privacy. The law in these areas continues to develop, the number of jurisdictions adopting such laws continues to increase and these laws may be inconsistent from state to state.

The Dodd-Frank Act prohibits insured depository institutions and their holding companies from engaging in proprietary trading except in limited circumstances, and prohibits them from owning equity interests in excess of three percent (3%) of Tier 1 Capital in private equity and hedge funds (known as the "Volcker Rule"). In December 2013, federal regulators adopted finalThe implementing rules to implement the Volcker Rule. The Final Rules prohibit banking entities from (1) engaging in short-term proprietary trading for their own accounts, and (2) having certain ownership interests in and relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds, which are referred to as "covered funds". The Final Rules are intended to provide greater clarity with respect to both the extent of those primary prohibitions and of the related exemptions and exclusions. The Final Rules also require each regulated entity to establish an internal compliance program that is consistent with the extent to which it engages in activities covered by the Volcker Rule, which must include (for the largest entities) making regular reports about those activities to regulators. Although the Final Rules provide some tiering of compliance and reporting obligations based on size, the fundamental prohibitions of the Volcker Rule apply to banking entities of any size, including theour Company and our Bank. Although the Final Rules were effective April 1, 2014, the Federal Reserve issued an order extending the period that institutionsThe Volcker Rule regulations contain exemptions for market-making, hedging, underwriting, trading in U.S. government and agency obligations and also permit certain ownership interests in certain types of funds to be retained. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act and subsequent promulgation of inter-agency final rules have to conform their activitiesaimed at simplifying and tailoring requirements related to the Volcker Rule. In August 2019, the agencies modified the rule to, among other things, eliminate collection of certain metrics and reduce the compliance burdens associated with the remaining metrics requirements, depending on the banking entity's total consolidated trading assets and liabilities. The regulatory agencies continue to consider additional proposals to simplify or eliminate other aspects of the Volcker RuleRule. Due to July 21, 2015. In addition, the Federal Reserve granted an extension until July 21, 2016 of the conformance period for banking entitieschanging regulatory landscape, we will continue to conform investments in and relationships with covered funds that were in place prior to December 31, 2013, and announced its intention to further extend this aspect of the conformance period until July 21, 2017. The Company has evaluatedevaluate the implications of the FinalVolcker Rules on its investments, andincluding new impacts as a result of the changes, but does not expect any material financial implications.

Under the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve adopted rules establishing standards for assessing whether the interchange fees that may be charged with respect to certain electronic debit transactions are "reasonable and proportional" to the costs incurred by issuers for processing such transactions.

We are subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that extensively govern our relationship with our customers. These laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, CAN-SPAM Act, and these laws’ respective state-law counterparts, as well as state usury laws and laws regarding unfair and deceptive acts and practices. These and other federal laws, among other things, require disclosures of the cost of credit and terms of deposit accounts, provide substantive consumer rights, prohibit discrimination in credit transactions, regulate the use of credit report information, provide financial privacy protections, prohibit unfair, deceptive and abusive practices, restrict our ability to raise interest rates and subject us to substantial regulatory oversight. Violations of applicable consumer protection laws can result in significant potential liability from litigation brought by customers, including actual damages, restitution and attorneys’ fees. Federal bank regulators, state attorneys general and state and local consumer protection agencies may also seek to enforce consumer protection requirements and obtain these and other remedies, including regulatory sanctions, customer rescission rights, action by the state and local attorneys general in each jurisdiction in which we operate and civil money penalties. Failure to comply with consumer protection requirements may also result in our failure to obtain any required bank regulatory approval for merger or acquisition transactions we may wish to pursue or our prohibition from engaging in such transactions even if approval is not required.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the federal bank regulators and the SEC to maintain guidelines prohibiting incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities, including us and our Bank, having at least $1 billion in total assets that encourage inappropriate risks by providing an executive officer, employee, director or principal stockholder with excessive compensation, fees, or benefits or that could lead to material financial loss to the entity.

The Federal Reserve monitors theour capital adequacy of our holding company on a consolidated basis, and the FDIC and the SD Division of Banking monitor the capital adequacy of our Bank based on the Capital Rules, also known as the Basel III Capital Rules, which went into effect January 1, 2015, subject to certain phase-in provisions. The risk-based guidelines are intended to make regulatory capital requirements sensitive to differences in credit and market risk profiles among banks and bank holding companies, to account for off-balance sheet exposure and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Assets and off-balance sheet items are assigned to weighted risk categories, and capital is classified in one of the following tiers depending on its characteristic:

Federal law requires, among other things, that federal bank regulatory authorities take "prompt corrective action" with respect to institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. For such purposes, the law establishes five capital tiers: well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized.

The Company isWe are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that involve money laundering, financial recordkeeping and proceeds from crime, including the BSA, as amended by Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by governmental authorities in the U.S. such as the Department of the Treasury's FinCEN and the FFIEC. A major focus of governmental policy on financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at anti-money laundering and terrorist financing. The USA Patriot Act substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States in these areas: customer identification programs, money laundering, terrorist financing, identifying and reporting suspicious activities and currency transactions, currency crimes, and cooperation between financial institutions and law enforcement authorities. We are required, as part of our BSA/AML program, to designate a BSA Officer, maintain a BSA/AML training program, maintain internal controls to effectuate the BSA/AML program, implement independent testing of the BSA/AML program, and as of May 11, 2018, comply with FinCEN's new CDD Rule. The CDD Rule adds a new requirement for us to identify and verify the identity of natural persons ("beneficial owners") of legal entity customers who own, control and profit from companies when those companies open accounts. The CDD Rule has four core requirements. It requires covered financial institutions to establish and maintain written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to (1) identify and verify the identity of customers; (2) identify and verify the identity of the beneficial owners of companies opening accounts; (3) understand the nature and purpose of customer relationships to develop customer risk profiles; and (4) conduct ongoing monitoring to identify and report suspicious transactions and, on a risk basis, to maintain and update customer information. With respect to the new requirement to obtain beneficial ownership information, financial institutions will have to identify and verify the identity of any individuals who own 25 percent or more of a legal entity, and an individual who controls the legal entity.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and regimes, under authority of various laws, including designated foreign countries, nationals and others. OFAC publishes lists of specially designated targets and countries. We and our Bank are responsible for, among other things, blocking accounts of, and transactions with, such targets and countries, prohibiting unlicensed trade and financial transactions with them and reporting blocked transactions after their occurrence. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences, including causing applicable bank regulatory authorities not to approve merger or acquisition transactions when regulatory approval is required or to prohibit such transactions even if approval is not required.

Our internet address is www.greatwesternbank.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge through our website (by clicking on the Investor Relations link at the bottom of the page) as soon as reasonably practicable after the filing or furnishing of such material with the SEC.

Investing in our common stock involves a significant degree of risk. The material risks and uncertainties that management believes affect us are described below. Before investing in our common stock, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, in addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any of the following risks, as well as risks that we do not know or currently deem immaterial, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose some or all of your investment. As a public company, we face the risk of shareholder lawsuits and other related or unrelated litigation, particularly if we experience declines in the price of our common stock. Further, to the extent that any of the information in this report, or in other reports we file with the SEC, constitutes forward-looking statements, the risk factors below are cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."

Our financial performance generally, and in particular the ability of our borrowers to pay interest on and repay principal of outstanding loans and the value of collateral securing those loans, as well as demand for loans and other products and services we offer and whose success we rely on to drive our future growth, is highly dependent upon the business environment in the markets in which we operate, principally in our states, and in the United States as a whole. Unlike larger banks that are more geographically diversified, we provide banking and financial services to customers primarily in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The economic conditions in these local markets may be different from, and in some instances worse than, the economic conditions in the United States as a whole. Some elements of the business environment that affect our financial performance include short-term and long-term interest rates, the prevailing yield curve, inflation and price levels (particularly for agricultural commodities), monetary and trade policy, unemployment and the strength of the domestic economy and the local economy in the markets in which we operate. Unfavorable market conditions can result in a deterioration in the credit quality of our borrowers and the demand for our products and services, an increase in the number of loan delinquencies, defaults and charge-offs, additional provisions for loan and lease losses, adverse asset values of the collateral securing our loans and an overall material adverse effect on the quality of our loan portfolio. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by declines in economic growth, business activity or investor or business confidence; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; increases in inflation or interest rates; high unemployment; natural disasters; state or local government insolvency; or a combination of these or other factors.

Following the U.S. presidential election in 2016, there hasThere have been discussionchanges and dialogue regarding potential changesdiscussions with respect to U.S. trade policies, legislation, treaties and tariffs, including trade policies and tariffs affecting other countries, including China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico and retaliatory tariffs by such countries. Tariffs and retaliatory tariffs have been imposed, and additional tariffs and retaliation tariffs have been proposed. Such tariffs, retaliatory tariffs or other trade restrictions on products and materials that our customers import or export, including among others, agricultural products, could cause the prices of our customers’ products to increase which could reduce demand for such products, or reduce our customer margins, and adversely impact their revenues, financial results and ability to service debt; which, in turn, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, to the extent changes in the political environment have a negative impact on us or on the markets in which we operate our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted in the future. It remains unclear what the U.S. Administration or foreign governments will or will not do with respect to tariffs already imposed, additional tariffs that may be imposed, or international trade agreements and policies. On October 1, 2018, the United States, Canada and Mexico agreed to a new trade deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"), whichAgreement. While ratified by Mexico, the trade deal is subject to congressional approvalcongressional-approval and ratification by Canada which may or may not be approved by the end of 2019. In the event that the agreement is not expected untilfully ratified in 2019, and various components of the agreement aremay not be effective until 2020.2021. The full impact of this agreement on us, our customers and on the economic conditions in our states is currently unknown. A trade war or other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements or policies has the potential to negatively impact ours and/or our customers' costs, demand for our customers' products, and/or the U.S. economy or certain sectors thereof and, thus, adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

At September 30, 2018, 68.4%2019, 70.5% of our aggregate loan portfolio, comprising our CRE loans (representing 49.0%52.3% of our aggregate loan portfolio), residential real estate loans (representing 8.9%8.4% of our aggregate loan portfolio) and agriculture real estate loans (representing 10.5%9.8% of our aggregate loan portfolio), was primarily secured by interests in real estate predominantly located in the states in which we operate. In addition, some of our other lending occasionally involves taking real estate as primary or secondary collateral. Real property values in these states may be different from, and in some instances worse than, real property values in other markets or in the United States as a whole, and may be affected by a variety of factors outside of our control and the control of our borrowers, including national and local economic conditions generally. Declines in real property prices, including prices for homes, commercial properties and farmland, in the states in which we operate could result in a deterioration of the credit quality of our borrowers, an increase in the number of loan delinquencies, defaults and charge-offs, and reduced demand for our products and services generally. Our CRE loans, in particular, totaled approximately $4.63$5.09 billion at September 30, 2018,2019, or 49.0%52.3% of our loan portfolio, and may have a greater risk of loss than residential mortgage loans, in part because these loans are generally larger or more complex to underwrite, monitor and service. Agricultural real estate loans may be affected by similar factors to those that affect agricultural loans generally, including adverse weather conditions, disease and declines in the market prices for agricultural products or farm real estate. In addition, declines in real property values in the states in which we operate could reduce the value of any collateral we realize following a default on these loans and could adversely affect our ability to continue to grow our loan portfolio consistent with our underwriting standards. Our failure to effectively mitigate these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The operation of our business requires us to manage credit risk. As a lender, we are exposed to the risk that our borrowers will be unable to repay their loans according to their terms, and that the collateral securing repayment of their loans, if any, may not be sufficient to ensure repayment. In addition, there are risks inherent in making any loan, including risks with respect to the period of time over which the loan may be repaid, risks relating to proper loan underwriting, risks resulting from changes in economic and industry conditions and risks inherent in dealing with individual borrowers. In order to successfully manage credit risk, we must, among other things, maintain disciplined and prudent underwriting standards and ensure that our bankers follow those standards. The weakening of these standards for any reason, such as an attempt to attract higher yielding loans, a lack of discipline or diligence by our employees in underwriting and monitoring loans, our inability to adequately adapt policies and procedures to changes in economic or any other conditions affecting borrowers may negatively impact the quality of our loan portfolio, result in loan defaults, foreclosures and additional charge-offs and necessitate that we significantly increase our allowance for loan and lease losses. As a result, our inability to successfully manage credit risk could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We maintain an allowance for loan and lease losses, which is a reserve established through a provision for loan and lease losses charged to expense representing management’s best estimate of probable losses that have been incurred within our existing portfolio of loans, fair value adjustments related to credit risk on our loans for which we have elected the fair value option and credit marks, which are estimates of expected credit losses that reduce the fair value of certain loans acquired through acquisitions. The allowance, in the judgment of management, is an amount necessary to reserve for estimated loan and lease losses and risks inherent in the portfolio. The level of the allowance reflects management’s continuing evaluation of specific credit risks; the quality of the loan portfolio; the value of the underlying collateral; the level of nonaccruing loans; and economic, political and regulatory conditions. The determination of the appropriate level of the allowance for loan and lease losses inherently involves a high degree of subjectivity and requires us to make significant estimates of current credit risks, all of which may undergo material changes. We also establish fair value adjustments related to our estimates of expected credit losses for loans accounted for using the fair value option.

Liquidity risk is the risk that we will not be able to meet our obligations, including financial commitments, as they come due and is inherent in our operations. This risk can increase due to a number of factors, including an over-reliance on a particular source of funding (including, for example, short-term and overnight funding) or market-wide phenomena such as market dislocation and major disasters. Like many banking companies, we rely on customer deposits to meet a considerable portion of our funding, and we continue to seek customer deposits to maintain this funding base. We obtain deposits directly from retail and commercial customers and "brokered deposits" through third parties that offer our deposit products to their customers. As of September 30, 2018,2019, we had $9.13$9.59 billion in direct deposits (which includes deposits from banks and financial institutions and deposits related to prepaid cards) and $600.2$706.5 million in deposits originated through brokerage firms (including network deposit sweeps). A key part of our liquidity plan and funding strategy is to expand our direct deposits as a source of funding. However, these deposits are subject to potentially dramatic fluctuations in availability or price due to certain factors outside our control, such as a loss of confidence by customers in us or the banking sector generally, customer perceptions of our financial health and general reputation, increasing competitive pressures from other financial services firms for retail or corporate customer deposits, changes in interest rates and returns on other investment classes, which could result in significant outflows of deposits within short periods of time or significant changes in pricing necessary to maintain current or attract additional deposits.

Severe weather, natural disasters, widespread disease or pandemics, acts of war or terrorism or other adverse external events could have a significant impact on our ability to conduct business. In addition, such 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 or cause us to incur additional expenses. Because of the concentration of agricultural loans in our lending portfolio and the volume of our borrowers in regions dependent on agriculture, we could be disproportionately affected relative to others in the case of external events such as floods, droughts and hail affecting the agricultural conditions in the markets we serve. The occurrence of any of these events in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We operate in the highly competitive financial services industry and face significant competition for customers from financial institutions located both within and beyond our principal markets. We compete with commercial banks, savings banks, credit unions, non-bank financial services companies and other financial institutions operating within or near the areas we serve, particularly nationwide and regional banks and larger community banking institutions that target the same customers we do. We also face competition for agricultural loans from participants in the nationwide Farm Credit System and global banks. In addition, as customer preferences and expectations continue to evolve, technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks, such as automatic transfer and automatic payment systems. Customer loyalty can be influenced by a competitor’s new products, especially offerings that could provide cost savings or a higher return to the customer. We may not be able to compete successfully with other financial institutions and financial service providers in our market, and we may have to pay higher interest rates to attract deposits, accept lower yields to attract loans and pay higher wages for new employees, resulting in reduced profitability. Further, increased lending activity by our competitors following the 2008 recession has led to increased competitive pressures on loan rates and terms. Continued loan pricing pressure could have a further negative effect on our loan yields and net interest margin.

Our growth strategy focuses on organic growth, supplemented by acquisitions and requires us to manage several different elements simultaneously. Sustainable growth requires that we manage our risks by balancing loan and deposit growth at acceptable levels of risk, maintaining adequate liquidity and capital, hiring and retaining qualified employees, successfully managing the costs and implementation risks with respect to strategic projects and initiatives, and integrating acquisition targets and managing the costs. Our growth strategy may also change from time to time as a result of various internal and external factors. Our inability to manage our growth successfully could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In order to manage the significant risks inherent in our business, we must maintain effective policies, procedures and systems that enable us to identify, monitor and control our exposure to material risks, such as credit, operational, legal and reputational risks. Our risk management methods may prove to be ineffective due to their design, their implementation or the degree to which we adhere to them, or as a result of the lack of adequate, accurate or timely information or otherwise. Any failure or circumvention of our controls, processes and procedures or failure to comply with regulations related to controls, processes and procedures could necessitate changes in those controls, processes and procedures, which may increase our compliance costs, divert management attention from our business or subject us to regulatory actions and increased regulatory scrutiny. If our risk management efforts are ineffective, we could suffer losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, we could be subject to litigation, particularly from our customers, and sanctions or fines from regulators. Our techniques for managing the risks we face may not fully mitigate the risk exposure in all economic or market environments, including exposure to risks that we might fail to identify or anticipate.

Our operations depend on our ability to process a very large number of transactions efficiently and accurately while complying with applicable laws and regulations. Operational risk and losses can result from internal and external fraud; errors by employees or third parties; failure to implement new lines of business, products, product enhancements, or services; failure to document transactions properly or to obtain proper authorization; failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements and conduct of business rules; equipment failures, including those caused by natural disasters or by electrical, telecommunications or other essential utility outages; business continuity and data security system failures, including those caused by computer viruses, cyber-attacks or unforeseen problems encountered while implementing major new computer systems or upgrades to existing systems; or the inadequacy or failure of systems and controls, including those of our suppliers or counterparties. Although we have implemented risk controls and loss mitigation actions, and substantial resources are devoted to developing efficient procedures, identifying and rectifying weaknesses in existing procedures and training staff, it is not possible to be certain that such

In the normal course of business, we collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential information regarding our customers. We also have arrangements in place with other third parties through which we share and receive information about their customers who are or may become our customers. Although we devote significant resources and management focus to ensuring the integrity of our systems through information security and business continuity programs, our facilities and systems, and those of third party service providers, are vulnerable to external or internal security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming or human errors or other similar events.

Our communications, information and technology systems supporting our operations are important to our efficiency and vulnerable to unforeseen problems. Our operations depend on our ability, as well as that of third party service providers, to protect computer systems and network infrastructure against damage from fires, other natural disasters; power or telecommunications failures; acts of terrorism or wars or other catastrophic events; or other physical break-ins. Any failures or disruptions in our communications, information and technology systems, or our failure to adequately address them, could negatively affect our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan or other systems. If we experience a disruption in the provision of any functions or services performed by third parties, we may have difficulty in finding alternative providers on terms favorable to us and in reasonable timeframes. The occurrence of any failures or interruptions of our communications, information and technology 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 business, financial condition or results of operations.

The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new, technology-driven products and services. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers and to reduce costs. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements than we do. We may not be able to effectively implement new, technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers. In addition, the implementation of technological changes and upgrades to maintain current systems and integrate new ones may also cause service interruptions, transaction processing errors and system conversion delays and may cause us to fail to comply with applicable laws. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry and avoid interruptions, errors and delays could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our customers rely on us to deliver superior, personalized financial services with the highest standards of ethics, performance, professionalism and compliance. Damage to our reputation could undermine the confidence of our current customers and our ability to attract potential customers. Such damage could also impair the confidence of our counterparties and vendors and ultimately affect our ability to effect transactions. Maintenance of our reputation depends not only on our success in maintaining our service-focused culture and controlling and mitigating the various risks described herein, but also on our success in identifying and appropriately addressing issues that may arise in areas such as potential conflicts of interest, anti-money laundering, client personal information and privacy issues, employee, customer and other third party fraud, record-keeping, regulatory investigations and any litigation that may arise from the failure or perceived failure of us to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Maintaining our reputation also depends on our ability to successfully prevent third parties from infringing on the "Great Western Bank" brand and associated trademarks and our other intellectual property. Defense of our reputation, trademarks and other intellectual property, including through litigation, could result in costs that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our reputation or prospects could be significantly damaged by adverse publicity or negative information regarding our Company, whether or not true, that may be posted on social media, non-mainstream news services or other parts of the internet, and this risk can be magnified by the speed and pervasiveness with which information is disseminated through those channels.

We are vulnerable to reputational harm because we operate in an industry in which integrity and the confidence of our customers are of critical importance. Our employees could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our customers and/or our business. For example, if an employee were to engage in fraudulent, illegal, wrongful or suspicious activities, and/or activities resulting in consumer harm that adversely affects our customers and/or our business. The precautions we couldtake to detect and prevent such misconduct may not always be subject toeffective and regulatory sanctions and/or penalties, and suffer serious harm to our reputation, (as a consequence of the negative perception resulting from such activities), financial position,condition, customer relationships and ability to attract new customers. Our business often requires that we deal withIn addition, improper use or disclosure of confidential information. Ifinformation by our employees, were to improperly use or disclose this information, even if inadvertently, weinadvertent, could sufferresult in serious harm to our reputation, financial positioncondition and current and future business relationships. It is not always possible to deter employee misconduct, and theThe precautions we take to detect and prevent this activitysuch misconduct may not always be effective. Misconduct by our employees, or even unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct, could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Financial services institutions that deal with each other are interconnected as a result of trading, investment, liquidity management, clearing, counterparty and other relationships. Within the financial services industry, loss of public confidence, including through default by any one institution, could lead to liquidity challenges or to defaults by other institutions. Concerns about, or a default by, one institution could lead to significant liquidity problems and losses or defaults by other institutions, as the commercial and financial soundness of many financial institutions is closely related as a result of these credit, trading, clearing and other relationships. Even the perceived lack of creditworthiness of, or questions about, a counterparty may lead to market-wide liquidity problems and losses or defaults by various institutions. This systemic risk may adversely affect financial intermediaries, such as clearing agencies, banks and exchanges with which we interact on a daily basis or key funding providers such as the Federal Home Loan Banks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our access to liquidity or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may need to raise additional capital, in the form of additional debt or equity, in the future to have sufficient capital resources and liquidity to meet our commitments and fund our business needs and future growth, particularly if the quality of our assets or earnings were to deteriorate significantly. Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on, among other things, conditions in the capital markets at that time, which are outside of our control, and our financial condition. Economic conditions and a loss of confidence in financial institutions may increase our cost of funding and limit access to certain customary sources of capital, including inter-bank borrowings, repurchase agreements and borrowings from the discount window of the Federal Reserve System.

We originate and sell a majority of our residential mortgage loans and their servicing rights, including $266.5$288.1 million of residential mortgage loans sold during fiscal year 2018.2019. This does not include the loan servicing portfolio acquired from HF Financial, approximately $613.3$525.0 million, and portfolio loans consisting of ARMs and other non-conforming loans of approximately $837.6$812.2 million, each at September 30, 2018.2019. We rely on FNMA and other purchasers to purchase loans in order to reduce our credit risk and provide funding for additional loans we desire to originate. We cannot provide assurance that these purchasers will not materially limit their purchases from us due to capital constraints or other factors, including, with respect to FNMA, a change in the criteria for conforming loans. In addition, various proposals have been made to reform the U.S. residential mortgage finance market, including the role of FNMA. The exact effects of any such reforms are not yet known, but may limit our ability to sell conforming loans to FNMA. In addition, residential mortgage lending is highly regulated, and our inability to comply with all federal and state regulations and investor guidelines regarding the origination, underwriting documentation and servicing of residential mortgage loans may also impact our ability to continue selling residential mortgage loans. If we are unable to continue to sell loans in the secondary market, our ability to fund, and thus originate, additional residential mortgage loans may be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

When we sell mortgage loans, we are required to make customary representations and warranties to the purchaser about the mortgage loans and the manner in which they were originated and serviced. If any of these representations and warranties are incorrect, we may be required to indemnify the purchaser for any related losses, or we may be required to repurchase or provide substitute mortgage loans for part or all of the affected loans. We may also be required to repurchase loans as a result of borrower fraud or in the event of early payment default by the borrower on a loan we have sold. If the level of repurchase and indemnity activity becomes material, it could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, business, financial condition or results of operations.

As a residential mortgage servicer in the U.S., we have a portfolio of loan servicing rights. A loan servicing right is the right to service a mortgage loan - collect principal, interest and escrow amounts - for a fee. Loan servicing rights are subject to interest rate risk in that their fair value will fluctuate as a result of changes in the interest rate environment. When interest rates fall, borrowers are usually more likely to prepay their mortgage loans by refinancing them at a lower rate. As the likelihood of prepayment increases, the fair value of our loan servicing rights can decrease. Any decrease in the fair value of our loan servicing rights will reduce earnings in the period in which the decrease occurs, which can result in earnings volatility.

In considering whether to make a loan secured by real property, we generally require an appraisal of the property. However, an appraisal is only an estimate of the value of the property at the time the appraisal is made, and, as real estate values may change significantly in relatively short periods of time (especially in periods of heightened economic uncertainty), this estimate may not accurately describe the net value of the real property collateral after the loan is made. As a result, we may not be able to realize the full amount of any remaining indebtedness when we foreclose on and sell the relevant property. In addition, we rely on appraisals and other valuation techniques to establish the value of our other repossessed property and to determine certain loan impairments. If any of these valuations are inaccurate, our consolidated financial statements may not reflect the correct value of our other repossessed property, and our allowance for loan and lease losses may not reflect accurate loan impairments. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We depend to a significant extent on relationships with third party service providers. Specifically, we utilize third party core banking services and receive credit card and debit card services, branch capture services, Internet banking services and services complementary to our banking products from various third party service providers. IfThese types of third party relationships are subject to increasingly demanding regulatory requirements and attention by our federal bank regulators. Recent regulation requires us to enhance our due diligence, ongoing monitoring and control over our third party vendors and other ongoing third party business relationships. In certain cases, we may be required to renegotiate our agreements with these vendors to meet these enhanced requirements, which could increase our costs. We expect that our regulators will hold us responsible for deficiencies in our oversight and control of our third party relationships and in the performance of the parties with which we have these relationships, which could result in enforcement actions, including civil money penalties or other administrative or judicial penalties or fines as well as requirements for customer remediation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, if these third party service providers experience difficulties or terminate their services and we are unable to replace them with other service providers, our operations could be interrupted. It may be difficult for us to replace some of our third party vendors, particularly vendors providing our core banking, credit card and debit card services, in a timely manner if they were unwilling or unable to provide us with these services in the future for any reason. If an interruption were to continue for a significant period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Even if we are able to replace them, it may be at higher cost to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, if a third party provider fails to provide the services we require, fails to meet contractual requirements, such as compliance with applicable laws and regulations, or suffers a cyber-attack or other security breach, our business could suffer economic and reputational harm that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are a separate and distinct legal entity from our Bank, and we receive substantially all of our operating cash flows from dividends and other payments from our Bank. These dividends and payments are the principal source of funds to pay dividends on our common stock and interest and principal on any debt we may have. Various federal and state laws and regulations limit the amount of dividends that our Bank may pay to us. In addition, our right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. In the event our Bank is unable to pay dividends to us, we may not be able to service debt, pay obligations, or pay dividends on our common stock. The inability to receive dividends from our Bank could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We participate in various U.S. government agency guarantee programs, including programs operated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Small Business Administration, Farm Service Administration and the United States Department of the Interior. We are responsible for following all applicable U.S. government agency regulations, guidelines and policies whenever we originate loans as part of these guarantee programs. If we fail to follow any applicable regulations, guidelines or policies associated with a particular guarantee program, any loans we originate as part of that program may lose the associated guarantee, exposing us to credit risk we would not otherwise be exposed to or underwritten as part of our origination process for U.S. government agency guaranteed loans, or result in our inability to continue originating loans under such programs. The loss of any guarantees for loans we have extended under U.S. government agency guarantee programs or the loss of our ability to participate in such programs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or 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 may also rely on representations of those customers or counterparties or of other third parties, such as independent auditors, as to the accuracy and completeness of that information. Reliance on inaccurate, fraudulent or misleading financial statements, credit reports or other financial information could result in loan and lease losses, reputational damage or other effects that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor’s ("S&P") cut the credit rating of the U.S. federal government’s long-term sovereign debt from AAA to AA+, while also keeping its outlook negative. Moody’s had lowered its own outlook for the same debt to "Negative" on August 2, 2011, and Fitch also lowered its outlook for the same debt to "Negative Watch" on October 15, 2013. As of the date of this filing, all three rating agencies show a "Stable" outlook. Further downgrades of the U.S. federal government’s sovereign credit rating, and the perceived creditworthiness of U.S. government-backed obligations, could impact our ability to obtain funding that is collateralized by affected instruments and our ability to access capital markets on favorable terms. Such downgrades could also affect the pricing of funding, when funding is available. A downgrade of the credit rating of the U.S. government, or of its agencies, government-sponsored enterprises or related institutions, agencies or instrumentalities, may also adversely affect the market value of such instruments and, further, exacerbate the other risks to which we are subject and any related adverse effects on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our internal controls, disclosure controls, processes and procedures, and corporate governance policies and procedures are based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable (not absolute) assurances that the objectives of the system are met. Any failure or circumvention of our controls, processes and procedures or failure to comply with regulations related to controls, processes and procedures could necessitate changes in those controls, processes and procedures, which may increase our compliance costs, divert management attention from our business or subject us to regulatory actions and increased regulatory scrutiny. Any of these could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Our management must exercise judgment in selecting and applying many of these accounting policies and methods so they comply with U.S. GAAP and reflect management’s judgment of the most appropriate manner to report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, management must select the accounting policy or method to apply from two or more alternatives, any of which may be reasonable under the circumstances, yet which may result in our reporting materially different results than would have been reported under a different alternative.

The tax laws applicable to our business activities, including the laws of the United States, South Dakota and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation and may change over time. From time to time, legislative initiatives, such as corporate tax rate changes, which may impact our effective tax rate and could adversely affect our deferred tax assets or our tax positions or liabilities, may be enacted. The taxing authorities in the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our tax positions, which could increase our effective tax rate and harm our financial position and results of operations. In addition, our future income taxes could be adversely affected by earnings being higher than anticipated in jurisdictions that have higher statutory tax rates or by changes in tax laws, regulations or accounting principles. We are subject to audit and review by U.S. federal and state tax authorities. Any adverse outcome of such a review or audit could have a negative effect on our financial position and results of operations. In addition, the determination of our provision for income taxes and other liabilities requires significant judgment by management. Although we believe that our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and could have a material adverse effect on our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made.

The Tax Reform Act, which was enacted in December 2017, is likely to have both positive and negative effects on our financial performance. Beginning in 2018, the Tax Reform Act reduces the federal tax rate for corporations from 35% to 21% and changes or limits certain tax deductions. Because of the Company'sour September 30 fiscal year end, a blended statutory rate of 24.5% iswas applied to all net income before taxes generated during the currentfor fiscal year 2018 and a fully phased in statutory federal tax rate of 21% was applied to all net income before taxes beginning in fiscal year 2019, which has and will have a favorable impact on our earnings and capital generation abilities. However, the new legislation also enacted limitations on certain deductions that will have an impact on the banking industry, borrowers and the market for single-family residential real estate. These limitations include (1) a lower limit on the deductibility of mortgage interest on single-family residential mortgage loans, (2) the elimination of interest deductions for certain home equity loans, (3) a limitation on the deductibility of business interest expense, and (4) a limitation on the deductibility of property taxes and state and local income taxes. We continue to evaluateGiven the Tax Reform Actcurrent economic and its impact on us.

As a publicly traded company, we are required to file periodic reports containing our consolidated financial statements with the SEC within a specified time following the completion of quarterly and annual periods. Maintaining effective disclosure controls and procedures is necessary to identify information we must disclose in our periodic reports and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary to produce reliable financial statements and to prevent fraud. If we fail to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures or effective internal control over financial reporting, we may experience difficulty in satisfying our SEC reporting obligations. Any failure by us to file our periodic reports with the SEC in a timely manner could harm our reputation and cause investors and potential investors to lose confidence in us and reduce the market price of our common stock, and could result in a suspension or delisting of our common stock from the NYSE.

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 that we have originated or acquired. We also have an extensive branch network, owning separate branch locations throughout the areas we serve. For any real property that we may possess,loans. In doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. The costs associated with investigation and remediation activities could be substantial. If hazardous or toxic substances are found, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage, including damages and costs of complying with applicableresulting from environmental regulatory requirements. Failurecontamination emanating from the property. We also have an extensive branch network, owning separate branch locations throughout the areas we serve that may be subject to comply with such requirements can result in penalties.similar environmental liability risks. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses and maycould materially reduce the affected property’sproperty's value or

Competitors or other third parties may allege that we, or consultants or other third parties retained or indemnified by us, infringe on their intellectual property rights. We also may face allegations that our employees have misappropriated intellectual property of their former employers or other third parties. Given the complex, rapidly changing and competitive technological and business environment in which we operate, and the potential risks and uncertainties of intellectual property-related litigation, an assertion of an infringement claim against us may cause us to spend significant amounts to defend the claim (even if we ultimately prevail); to pay significant money damages; to lose significant revenues; to be prohibited from using the relevant systems, processes, technologies or other intellectual property; to cease offering certain products or services or to incur significant license, royalty or technology development expenses. Moreover, it has become common in recent years for individuals and groups to purchase intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies like ours. Even in instances where we believe that claims and allegations of intellectual property infringement against us are without merit, defending against such claims is time consuming and expensive and could result in the diversion of time and attention of our management and employees. In addition, although in some cases a third party may have agreed to indemnify us for such costs, such indemnifying party may refuse, or be unable, to uphold its contractual obligations.

Some of the services we provide, such as trust and investment services, require us to act as fiduciaries for our customers and others. From time to time, third parties make claims and take legal action against us pertaining to the performance of our fiduciary responsibilities. If these claims and legal actions are not resolved in a manner favorable to us, we may be exposed to significant financial liability or our reputation could be damaged. Either of these results may adversely impact demand for our products and services or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The banking industry is extensively regulated and supervised under both federal and state laws and regulations that are intended primarily for the protection of depositors, customers, federal deposit insurance funds and the banking system as a whole, not for the protection of our stockholders and creditors. We are subject to regulation and supervision by the Federal Reserve, and our Bank is subject to regulation and supervision by the FDIC, the SD Division of Banking and the BCFP.CFPB. The laws and regulations applicable

We are subject to the compensation-related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, which prohibit incentive-based payment arrangements that encourage inappropriate risk taking. Deficiencies identified could be incorporated into the organization's supervisory ratings, which can affect the organization's ability to make acquisitions and take other actions. Enforcement actions may be taken against a banking organization if its incentive compensation arrangements, or related risk management control or governance processes, pose a risk to the organization's safety and soundness and the organization is not taking prompt and effective measures to correct the deficiencies. The scope and content of the U.S. banking regulators' policies on incentive compensation are continuing to develop and are likely to continue evolving in the future.

With the acquisition of HF Financial on May 16, 2016, our Bank’s total assets exceeded $10 billion during the quarter ended June 30, 2016. The Dodd-Frank Act and its implementing regulations impose various additional requirements on bank holding companies with $10 billion or more in total assets, including compliance with portions of the Federal Reserve’s enhanced prudential oversight requirements and a more frequent and enhanced regulatory examination regime. In addition, banks, including ours, with $10 billion or more in total assets are primarily examined by the BCFPCFPB with respect to various federal consumer financial protection laws and regulations, with the FDIC maintaining supervision over some consumer related regulations. Previously, the FDIC has been primarily responsible for examining our Bank’s compliance with consumer protection laws. As a relatively new agency with evolving regulations and practices, there is some uncertainty as to how the BCFP’sCFPB’s examination and regulatory authority might impact our business.

Under federal law and longstanding Federal Reserve policy, we are expected to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to our Bank, and to commit resources to support our Bank if necessary. We may be required to commit additional resources to our Bank at times when we may not be in a financial position to provide such resources or when it may not be in our, or our stockholders’ or creditors’, best interests to do so. Providing such support is more likely during times of financial stress for us and our Bank, which may make any capital we are required to raise to provide such support more expensive than it might otherwise be. In addition, any capital loans we make to our Bank are subordinate in right of payment to depositors and to certain other indebtedness of our Bank. In the event of our bankruptcy, any commitment by us to a federal banking regulator to maintain the capital of our Bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment.

We are subject to regulatory requirements specifying minimum amounts and types of capital that we must maintain. From time to time, the regulators change these regulatory capital adequacy guidelines. If we fail to meet these minimum capital guidelines and other regulatory requirements, we or our subsidiaries may be restricted in the types of activities we may conduct and we may be prohibited from taking certain capital actions, such as paying dividends and repurchasing or redeeming capital securities.

Our business is subject to increased litigation and regulatory risks as a result of a number of factors, including the highly regulated nature of the financial services industry and the focus of state and federal prosecutors on banks and the financial services industry generally. This focus has only intensified since the financial crisis commencing in 2008 and its aftermath, with regulators and prosecutors focusing on a variety of financial institution practices and requirements, including foreclosure practices, compliance with applicable consumer protection laws, classification of held for sale assets and compliance with anti-money laundering statutes, the BSA and sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

During the quarter endedOn September 30, 2018, we did not purchase any of our common stock. On October 26, 2016,1, 2019, our Board of Directors approved aan amendment to our stock repurchase program originally approved on October 26, 2016, wherein we maywere authorized to repurchase of up to $100.0 million of our common stock ("Repurchase Program"). Pursuant to the amendment, we may repurchase up to an additional $75.0 million of our common stock. The Repurchase Program permits shares to be repurchased in the open market, including pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the SEC. Repurchases may be made at management’s discretion at prices management considers to be attractive, subject to the availability of stock, general market conditions, the applicable trading price, future alternative advantageous uses for capital, and our financial performance. Open market purchases will be conducted in accordance with the limitations set forth in Rule 10b-18 of the SEC and other applicable legal requirements. At September 30, 2018,2019, we had $94.4$75.1 million available for future purchases of our common stock under the amended Repurchase Program.