Some holders who exchange their Old Notes may be deemed to be underwriters.
Based on interpretations of the staff of the SEC contained in certain no action letters addressed to other parties, we believe that you may
offer for resale, resell or otherwise transfer the New Notes without compliance with the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. However, in some instances described in this prospectus under Plan of
Distribution, certain holders of New Notes will remain obligated to comply with the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act to transfer the New Notes. If such a holder transfers any New Notes without delivering
a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act or without an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act, such a holder may incur liability under the Securities Act. We do not and will not assume, or indemnify such a
holder against, such liability.
Risks Related to the Notes
The notes are unsecured and subordinated to our existing and future senior indebtedness.
Although the New Notes will rank on par with the Old Notes, the notes will be unsecured, subordinated obligations of County Bancorp, Inc. and,
consequently, will rank junior in right of payment to all of our secured and unsecured senior indebtedness now existing or that we incur in the future, as described under Description of the NotesSubordination. As a
result, upon any payment or distribution of assets to creditors in the case of liquidation, dissolution, winding up, reorganization, assignment for the benefit of creditors or any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar proceeding, the holders of the
senior indebtedness will be entitled to have the senior indebtedness paid in full prior to the holders of the notes receiving any payment of principal of, or interest on, the notes.
As of March 31, 2018, the Company and our subsidiaries had outstanding indebtedness, total deposits and other liabilities of
$1.3 billion, excluding intercompany liabilities, all of which would rank structurally senior to the notes. As of March 31, 2018, the Bank had $1.3 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior indebtedness outstanding on a
consolidated basis, which consisted entirely of the outstanding indebtedness, total deposits and other liabilities of our subsidiaries. The notes do not limit the amount of additional indebtedness or senior indebtedness that we or any of our
subsidiaries, including the Bank, may incur. Accordingly, in the future, we and our subsidiaries may incur other indebtedness, which may be substantial in amount, including senior indebtedness, indebtedness ranking equally with the notes and
indebtedness ranking effectively senior to the notes, as applicable. Any additional indebtedness and liabilities that we and our subsidiaries incur may adversely affect our ability to pay our obligations on the notes.
As a consequence of the subordination of the notes to our existing and future senior indebtedness, an investor in the notes may lose all or
some of its investment upon our liquidation, dissolution, winding up, reorganization, assignment for the benefit of creditors or any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar proceeding. In such an event, our assets would be available to pay the principal
of, and any accrued and unpaid interest on, the notes only after all of our senior indebtedness had been paid in full. In such an event, any of our other general, unsecured obligations that do not constitute senior indebtedness, depending upon their
respective preferences, will share pro rata in our remaining assets after we have paid all of our senior indebtedness in full.
The notes are
obligations only of County Bancorp, Inc. and not obligations of the Bank or any of our other subsidiaries and will be effectively subordinated to the existing and future indebtedness, deposits of the Bank, and other liabilities of the Bank and our
other subsidiaries.
The notes are obligations solely of County Bancorp, Inc. and are not obligations of the Bank or any of our other
subsidiaries. The Bank and our other subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities from County Bancorp, Inc. The rights of County Bancorp, Inc. and the rights of its creditors, including the holders of the notes, to participate in any
distribution of the assets of the Bank or any other subsidiary (either as a shareholder or as a creditor) upon an insolvency, bankruptcy, liquidation, dissolution, winding up or similar proceeding of the Bank
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