CIM GROUP, INC. 10-Q

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk Market Risk The market risk associated with financial instruments and derivative financial instruments is the risk of loss from adverse changes in market prices or interest rates. Our market risk arises primarily from interest rate risk relating to variable-rate borrowings. To meet our short and long-term liquidity requirements, we borrow funds at a combination of fixed and variable rates. Our interest rate risk management objectives are to limit the impact of interest rate changes on earnings and cash flows and to manage our overall borrowing costs. To achieve these objectives, from time to time, we may enter into interest rate hedge contracts such as swaps, collars and treasury lock agreements in order to mitigate our interest rate risk with respect to various debt instruments. We do not intend to hold or issue these derivative contracts for trading or speculative purposes. We do not have any foreign operations and thus we are not exposed to foreign currency fluctuations. Interest Rate Risk Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors, including fiscal and monetary policies and domestic and international economic and political considerations, as well as other factors beyond our control. We are subject to interest rate risk in connection with our investments and the related financing obligations. In general, we seek to match the interest rate characteristics of our investments with the interest rate characteristics of any related financing obligations such as repurchase agreements, bank credit facilities, term loans, revolving facilities and securitizations. As of June 30, 2022, we had an aggregate of $3.2 billion of variable rate debt, excluding any debt subject to interest rate swap agreements and interest rate cap agreements, and therefore, we are exposed to interest rate changes in LIBOR and SOFR. As of June 30, 2022, an increase or decrease of 50 basis points in interest rates would result in an increase or decrease in interest expense of $16.2 million per year. As of June 30, 2022, we had three interest rate swap agreements and one interest rate cap agreement outstanding, which had maturity dates ranging from July 2022 through July 2023, with an aggregate notional amount of $805.8 million and an aggregate fair value of the net derivative asset of $1.9 million. The fair value of these interest rate swap agreements and interest rate cap agreements is dependent upon existing market interest rates and spreads. As of June 30, 2022, an increase of 50 basis points in interest rates would result in a change of $1.6 million to the fair value of the net derivative asset, resulting in a net derivative asset of $3.5 million. A decrease of 50 basis points in interest rates would result in a $1.1 million change to the fair value of the net derivative asset, resulting in a net derivative liability of $758,000. Subsequent to June 30, 2022, one of our interest rate swap agreements matured, as further discussed in Note 17 — Subsequent Events to our condensed consolidated financial statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. As the information presented above includes only those exposures that existed as of June 30, 2022, it does not consider exposures or positions arising after that date. The information presented herein has limited predictive value. Future actual realized gains or losses with respect to interest rate fluctuations will depend on cumulative exposures, hedging strategies employed and the magnitude of the fluctuations. These amounts were determined by considering the impact of hypothetical interest rate changes on our borrowing costs and assume no other changes in our capital structure. In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) that regulates LIBOR announced its intent to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. As a result, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve 60 Table of Contents Bank of New York organized the Alternative Reference Rates Committee which identified the SOFR as its preferred alternative to U.S. dollar LIBOR in derivatives and other financial contracts. On December 31, 2021, the FCA ceased publishing one week and two-month LIBOR, and the FCA intends to cease publishing all remaining LIBOR after June 30, 2023. This announcement has several implications, including setting the spread that may be used to automatically convert contracts from LIBOR to SOFR. The Company anticipates that LIBOR will continue to be available at least until June 30, 2023. Any changes adopted by FCA or other governing bodies in the method used for determining LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR. If that were to occur, our interest payments could change. In addition, uncertainty about the extent and manner of future changes may result in interest rates and/or payments that are higher or lower than if LIBOR were to remain available in its current form. As of June 30, 2022, we have interest rate swap agreements and interest rate cap agreements maturing on various dates from July 2022 through July 2023, as further discussed above, that are indexed to LIBOR. As such, we are monitoring and evaluating the related risks, which include interest on loans or amounts received and paid on derivative instruments. These risks arise in connection with transitioning contracts to a new alternative rate, including any resulting value transfer that may occur. The value of loans or derivative instruments tied to LIBOR could also be impacted if LIBOR is limited or discontinued. For some instruments, the method of transitioning to an alternative reference rate may be challenging, especially if we cannot agree with the respective counterparty about how to make the transition. If a contract is not transitioned to an alternative rate and LIBOR is discontinued, the impact on our contracts is likely to vary by contract. If LIBOR is discontinued or if the methods of calculating LIBOR change from their current form, interest rates on our current or future indebtedness may be adversely affected. While we expect LIBOR to be available in substantially its current form until at least the end of June 30, 2023, it is possible that LIBOR will become unavailable prior to that point. This could result, for example, if sufficient banks decline to make submissions to the LIBOR administrator. In that case, the risks associated with the transition to an alternative reference rate will be accelerated and magnified. Alternative rates and other market changes related to the replacement of LIBOR, including the introduction of financial products and changes in market practices, may lead to risk modeling and valuation challenges, such as adjusting interest rate accrual calculations and building a term structure for an alternative rate. The introduction of an alternative rate also may create additional basis risk and increased volatility as alternative rates are phased in and utilized in parallel with LIBOR. Credit Risk Concentrations of credit risk arise when a number of tenants are engaged in similar business activities, or activities in the same geographic region, or have similar economic features that would cause their ability to meet contractual obligations, including those to us, to be similarly affected by changes in economic conditions. We are subject to tenant, geographic and industry concentrations. Any downturn of the economic conditions in one or more of these tenants, states or industries could result in a material reduction of our cash flows or material losses to us. The factors considered in determining the credit risk of our tenants include, but are not limited to: payment history; credit status and change in status, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (credit ratings for public companies are used as a primary metric); change in tenant space needs ( i.e. , expansion/downsize); tenant financial performance; economic conditions in a specific geographic region; and industry specific credit considerations. We believe that the credit risk of our portfolio is reduced by the high quality of our existing tenant base, reviews of prospective tenants’ risk profiles prior to lease execution and consistent monitoring of our portfolio to identify potential problem tenants and mitigation options. Our loans and investments are also subject to credit risk. The performance and value of our loans and investments depend upon the owners’ ability to operate the properties that serve as our collateral so that they produce cash flows adequate to pay interest and principal due to us. To monitor this risk, our manager reviews our investment portfolios and in certain instances is in regular contact with our borrowers, monitoring performance of the collateral and enforcing our rights as necessary.