NASDAQ: NFBK

•competition among depository and other financial institutions, including with respect to fees and interest rates;

•changes in the interest rate environment that reduce our margins and yields, or reduce the market value of our assets, including the fair value of financial instruments, or reduce our ability to originate loans;

•adverse changes in the securities or credit markets, and changes in investor sentiment;

•changes in laws, tax policies, government regulations or policies affecting financial institutions;

•changes in regulatory fees, assessments, and capital requirements;

•the imposition of tariffs or other domestic or international governmental policies and retaliatory responses;

•changes in the quality and/or composition of our loan and securities portfolios, changes in prepayment speeds, charge-offs and in the estimates or methodology used to determine our allowance for credit losses;

•changes in the size and composition of our deposit portfolio and the percentage of uninsured deposits in the portfolio;

•our ability to manage our liquidity, including unanticipated changes in our liquidity position, changes in our access to or the cost of funding, and our ability to secure alternate funding sources;

•our ability to enter new markets successfully and capitalize on growth opportunities;

•our ability to successfully integrate acquired entities;

•changes in consumer demand, spending, borrowing and savings habits;

•changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the bank regulatory agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board;

•cyber-attacks and fraud risks, computer viruses and other technological risks that may breach the security of our website or other systems (including critical third-parties) to obtain unauthorized access to confidential information and destroy data or disable our systems;

•the failure to maintain current technologies and to successfully implement future technological enhancements;

•changes in investor sentiment with respect to financial institutions and their holding companies;

•changes in our organization, compensation structure, and benefit plans;

•our ability to attract and/or retain key employees;

•changes in the value of our goodwill or other intangible assets;

•changes in the level of government support for housing finance;

•changes in monetary or fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board (the “FRB”);

•the effect of any extended U.S. government shutdown;

•the ability of third-party providers to perform their obligations to us;

•the effects of natural or man-made disasters, climate change, severe weather conditions, or other extraordinary events beyond our control, and our ability to effectively respond to and manage these disruptions;

•changes in our ability to continue to pay dividends, either at current rates or at all;

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•operational or risk management failures by us or critical third parties;

•increased operational risks resulting from remote work;

•negative outcomes from claims or litigation;

•our ability to manage our reputation risks;

•our ability to timely and effectively implement our strategic initiatives;

•the disruption to local, regional, national and global economic activity caused by the spread of infectious disease, epidemics, pandemics, or other extraordinary events that are beyond our control and could impact our growth, operations, earnings and asset quality;

•changes in the financial condition, results of operations, or future prospects of issuers of securities that we own;

•any unexpected delay in closing the merger with Columbia Financial, Inc.;

•the possibility that the merger does not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, stockholder or other approvals and other conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all (including the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the proposed merger);

•the risk that the benefits from the merger may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected;

•disruption to our business as a result of the announcement and pendency of the merger;

•the costs associated with the anticipated length of time of the pendency of the merger, including the restrictions contained in the definitive merger agreement on our ability to operate its business outside the ordinary course during the pendency of the merger;

•reputational risk and potential adverse reactions of the merger by our customers, employees, vendors, contractors or other business partners; and

•the other factors set forth in “