Western Union 2008 Annual Report Download - page 10

WESTERN UNION
2008 Annual Report
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Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report and materials we have filed or will
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”) (as well as information included in our other written
or oral statements) contain or will contain certain state-
ments that are forward-looking within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may
differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by,
our forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,”
“intends,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “guides,”
“provides guidance,” “provides outlook” and other similar
expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,”
“should,” “would” and “could” are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. You should not rely solely on
the forward-looking statements and should consider all
uncertainties and risks as described under “Risk Factors”
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on
February 19, 2009. The statements are only as of the date
they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update
any forward-looking statement.
Possible events or factors that could cause results or
performance to differ materially from those expressed in
our forward-looking statements include the following:
º
changes in general economic conditions and economic
conditions in the geographic regions and industries
in which we operate;
º
adverse movements and volatility in capital markets
and other events which affect our liquidity, the liquidity
of our agents, or the value of, or our ability to recover
our investments;
º
changes in immigration laws, patterns and other fac-
tors related to migrants;
º
technological changes, particularly with respect to
e-commerce;
º
the failure by us, our agents or subagents to comply
with our business and technology standards and con-
tract requirements or applicable laws and regulations,
especially laws designed to prevent money laundering
and terrorist financing;
º
our ability to attract and retain qualified key employees
and to manage our workforce successfully;
º
changes in foreign exchange rates, including the
impact of the regulation of foreign exchange spreads
on money transfers;
º
political conditions and related actions in the United
States and abroad which may adversely affect our busi-
nesses and economic conditions as a whole;
º
failure to maintain sufficient amounts or types of regula-
tory capital to meet the changing requirements of our
various regulators worldwide;
º
significantly slower growth or declines in the money
transfer market and other markets in which we operate;
º
failure to implement agent contracts according to
schedule;
º
our ability to maintain our agent network and biller
relationships under terms consistent with or more
advantageous to us than those currently in place;
º
interruptions of United States government relations
with countries in which we have or are implementing
material agent contracts;
º
deterioration in consumers’ and clients’ confidence in
our business, or in money transfer providers generally;
ºfailure to manage credit and fraud risks presented by
our agents and consumers or non performance of our
financial services providers and insurance carriers;
ºadverse rating actions by credit rating agencies;
º
liabilities and unanticipated developments resulting
from litigation and regulatory investigations and similar
matters, including costs, expenses, settlements and
judgments;
º
changes in United States or foreign laws, rules and
regulations including the Internal Revenue Code, and
governmental or judicial interpretations thereof;
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