text: *Interstate Banking and Branching Act*
  
  Pursuant to the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, or Riegle-Neal Act, a 
  bank holding company or financial holding company is able to acquire banks in states other than its home state. The 
  Riegle-Neal Act also authorized banks to merge across state lines, thereby creating interstate branches, beginning 
  June 1, 1997. Furthermore, under this act, a bank is now able to open new branches in a state in which it does not 
  already have banking operations, if the laws of such state permit it to do so. Accordingly, both the OCC and the 
  Texas Banking Department accept applications for interstate merger and branching transactions, subject to certain 
  limitations on ages of the banks to be acquired and the total amount of deposits within the state a bank or financial 
  holding company may control. Since our primary service area is Texas, we do not expect that the ability to operate 
  in other states will have any material impact on our growth strategy. We may, however, face increased competition 
  from out-of-state banks that branch or make acquisitions in our primary markets in Texas. 