Cash America 2015 Annual Report Download - page 28

currently explained, would ban companies from including arbitration clauses that block class action lawsuits in
consumercontracts,includingtheCompany’sloanagreements.The proposal would not ban arbitration provisions
in their entirety, but the provisions would have to explain that they would not apply to cases filed as class actions
unless the class certification is denied or dismissed by the court. Any rule adopted by the CFPB would apply to
arbitration agreements entered into more than six months after the final rule becomes effective (and not to prior
arbitration agreements). Any judicial decisions, legislation or other rules or regulations that impair the Company’s
ability to enter into and enforce consumer arbitration agreements and class action waivers could significantly
increase the Company’s exposure to class action litigation as well as litigation in plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions,
which would be costly and could have a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company could be subject to disruptions in its information technology systems or to its business operations,
which would interfere with the Company’s ability to conduct business and could have a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company’s storefront operations depend on the efficiency and reliability of the Company’s point-of-
sale system. A shut-down of or inability to access the facilities in which the Company’s storefront point-of-sale
system and other technology infrastructure are based, such as a power outage, a failure of one or more of its
information technology, telecommunications or other systems, or sustained or repeated disruptions of such systems
could significantly impair the Company’s ability to perform such functions on a timely basis and could result in a
deterioration of the Company’s ability to perform efficient storefront lending and merchandise disposition activities,
provide customer service, perform collections activities, or perform other necessary business functions. Any such
interruption could have a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company’s services, operations and storefronts from which it provides products and services are also
vulnerable to damage or interruption from tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, floods, power losses,
telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, acts of war, human errors and similar events. A significant natural
disaster, such as a tornado, which the Company’s headquarters has experienced in the past, hurricane, earthquake,
fire or flood, could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s ability to conduct business, including causing
damage to merchandise or collateral that it holds in any of its retail services locations and causing multiple pawn
lending locations to shut down or have limited operations, and the Company’s insurance coverage may be
insufficient to compensate for losses that may occur. Acts of terrorism, civil unrest or violence could cause
disruptions to the Company’s business or the economy as a whole. Any of these events could cause consumer
confidence to decrease, which could result in a decreased number of loans being made to customers or reduced
demand for pre-owned merchandise such as the merchandise sold in the Company’s pawn shops. Any of these
occurrences could have a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company is subject to cyber security risks and security breaches and may incur increasing costs in an effort
to minimize those risks and to respond to cyber incidents.
The Company’s business involves the storage and transmission of customers’ proprietary information, and
security breaches could expose the Company to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, litigation, and potential
liability. The Company’s network is entirely dependent on the secure operation of its systems as well as the
operation of the internet generally. While the Company has incurred no material cyber-attacks to date, a number of
other companies have disclosed cyber-attacks and security breaches, some of which have involved intentional
attacks. The Company may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly
evolving types of cyber-attacks. Attacks may be targeted at the Company, its customers, or both. If an actual or
perceived breach of security occurs, customer and/or supplier perception of the effectiveness of the Company’s
security measures could be harmed and could result in the loss of customers, suppliers or both. Actual or anticipated
attacks and risks may cause the Company to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel
and protection technologies, train employees, and engage third party experts and consultants.
A person who is able to circumvent the Company’s security measures could misappropriate the Company’s
or its customers’ proprietary information, cause interruption in the Company’s operations, damage its computers or
those of its customers, or otherwise damage its reputation and business. Any compromise of security could result in
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