We are a community banking franchise concentrated in Louisiana. A significant portion of our business is generated from Louisiana markets that have been, and may continue to be, damaged by major hurricanes, floods, tropical storms, tornadoes, ice storms, and other natural disasters. Natural disasters can disrupt our operations, cause widespread property damage, and severely depress the local economies in which we operate. A deterioration in local economic conditions or in the residential or commercial real estate markets could have an adverse effect on the quality of our loan portfolio, the demand for our products and services, the ability of borrowers to timely repay loans, and the value of the collateral securing loans. As of December 31, 2023, 94.0% of loans HFI were made to borrowers who reside or conduct business in Louisiana, and substantially all of our real estate loans are secured by properties located in Louisiana. If the population, employment, or income growth in any of our markets is negative or slower than projected, income levels, deposits, and real estate development could be adversely impacted, which could adversely affect our business and profitability. Additionally, our business could be adversely affected by the effects of war and international conflict, civil unrest, inflation, labor market and supply chain constraints, or a widespread outbreak of pandemics.
Further, we are monitoring the ongoing military conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas, as well as the current tensions with China. While we do not expect that these conflicts will be directly material to us, associated effects of the geopolitical instability, such as the imposition of sanctions against Russia and Russia's response to such sanctions (including retaliatory acts like cyber-attacks and sanctions against other countries), could adversely affect the global economy or domestic markets, including ours.
If the economies in our primary markets experience an overall decline as a result of these types of external events, demand for loans and our other products and services could be reduced. In addition, the rate of delinquencies, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and losses on loan portfolios may increase substantially, as uninsured property losses or sustained job interruption or loss may materially impair our borrowers' ability to repay their loans. Such external events could, therefore, result in decreased revenue and increased credit losses for us.