Item 8.01. Other Events.
On March 26, 2020, State Street Corporation (the “Company”) commenced a proposed offering of senior notes (the “New Notes”) to qualified institutional buyers and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S, respectively, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
In connection with the proposed offering of the New Notes, the Company is filing this Current Report on Form 8-K to supplement the risk factors described in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. The following risk factor, which was contained in the preliminary offering memorandum relating to the proposed offering of the New Notes, should be read in conjunction with the risk factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Creates Significant Risks and Uncertainties for Our Business.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as our regulatory capital and liquidity ratios and other regulatory requirements in the United States and Internationally, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic, the effectiveness of our work from home arrangements and staffing levels in operational facilities, the impact of market participants on which we rely and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, lowered equity market valuations, decreased liquidity in fixed income markets, created significant volatility and disruption in financial markets, increased unemployment levels and disrupted global supply chains. This has created extraordinary demand on our transaction processing capabilities in our asset servicing business and volatility in our foreign exchange and asset management businesses. The market and economic uncertainty has also increased the risks inherent in our activities as a credit provider to investment pools and other institutional investors. In addition, our and other market participants’ reliance upon work from home capabilities, and the potential inability to maintain critical staff in our operational facilities, including facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, India and Poland, present risks associated with our and local infrastructure, increasingly restrictive local regulations, illness, quarantine and the sustainability of a work from home environment. Any material or extended disruption of our ability to deliver services or meet our responsibilities in the settlement of securities is likely to result in operating losses, loss of revenue or penalties under our service contracts which may have a material adverse impact on our results of operation and financial condition.
________________________
This Current Report on Form 8-K does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the New Notes, and there shall not be any offer to sell, solicitation of an offer to buy or sale of the New Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The New Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States absent an applicable exemption from registration requirements.