Discover 2015 Annual Report Download - page 58

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• changes in economic variables, such as the availability of consumer credit, the housing market, energy costs,
the number and size of personal bankruptcy filings, the rate of unemployment, the levels of consumer
confidence and consumer debt, and investor sentiment;
• the impact of current, pending and future legislation, regulation, supervisory guidance, and regulatory and
legal actions, including, but not limited to, those related to financial regulatory reform, consumer financial
services practices, anti-corruption and funding, capital and liquidity;
• the actions and initiatives of current and potential competitors;
• our ability to manage our expenses;
• our ability to successfully achieve card acceptance across our networks and maintain relationships with
network participants;
• our ability to sustain and grow our private student loan, personal loan and home equity loan products;
• losses as a result of mortgage loan repurchase and indemnification obligations to secondary market
purchasers;
• difficulty obtaining regulatory approval for, financing, closing, transitioning, integrating or managing the
expenses of acquisitions of or investments in new businesses, products or technologies;
• our ability to manage our credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, operational risk, compliance and legal risk,
and strategic risk;
• the availability and cost of funding and capital;
• access to deposit, securitization, equity, debt and credit markets;
• the impact of rating agency actions;
• the level and volatility of equity prices, commodity prices and interest rates, currency values, investments,
other market fluctuations and other market indices;
• losses in our investment portfolio;
• limits on our ability to pay dividends and repurchase our common stock;
• limits on our ability to receive payments from our subsidiaries;
• fraudulent activities or material security breaches of key systems;
• our ability to remain organizationally effective;
• our ability to increase or sustain Discover card usage or attract new customers;
• our ability to maintain relationships with merchants;
• the effect of political, economic and market conditions, geopolitical events and unforeseen or catastrophic
events;
• our ability to introduce new products or services;
• our ability to manage our relationships with third-party vendors;
• our ability to maintain current technology and integrate new and acquired systems;
• our ability to collect amounts for disputed transactions from merchants and merchant acquirers;
• our ability to attract and retain employees;
• our ability to protect our reputation and our intellectual property; and
• new lawsuits, investigations or similar matters or unanticipated developments related to current matters.
We routinely evaluate and may pursue acquisitions of or investments in businesses, products, technologies, loan
portfolios or deposits, which may involve payment in cash or our debt or equity securities.
The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exclusive and should be read in conjunction
with the other cautionary statements that are included in this annual report on Form 10-K. These factors expressly
qualify all subsequent oral and written forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf.