Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in “Risk Factors” in the February 28, 2023 filing of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which
could materially affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. The risks described in our Annual Report are not the only risks facing our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. Other than the risk factors set forth below, there have been no material changes during the period ended September 30, 2023 to the risk factors discussed in “Risk Factors” in the February 28, 2023 filing of our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance
by financial institutions or transactional counterparties could have a material adverse effect on us, the Investment Adviser and our portfolio companies.
Cash not held in custody accounts and held by us, our Investment Adviser and by our portfolio companies in non-interest-bearing
and interest-bearing operating accounts could, at times, exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we, our Investment Adviser, or our portfolio companies could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limits. In addition, actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance
or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, which could adversely affect our, our Investment Adviser’s and our portfolio companies’ business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects.
Although we and our Investment Adviser assess our and our portfolio companies’ banking and financing relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our and our portfolio companies’ access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect the financial institutions with which we, our Investment Adviser or our portfolio companies have arrangements directly or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which we, our Investment Adviser or our portfolio companies have financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.
In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us, our Investment Adviser, or our portfolio companies to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all.
Our stock repurchase program could affect the price of our common stock and increase volatility and may be suspended or terminated at any time, which may result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock.
On May 9, 2023, the Board most recently extended our share repurchase program (the “Program”), under which we can repurchase up to $50 million of our outstanding common stock. Under the Program, purchases can be made at management’s discretion from time to time in open-market transactions, in accordance with all applicable securities laws and regulations, at prices below the Company’s NAV as reported in its most recently published consolidated financial statements. We have in the past, and could in the future, enter into a plan to repurchase shares of our common stock pursuant to the Program in a manner intended to comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1
under the Exchange Act.
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The Program is discretionary and whether purchases will be made under the Program and how much will be purchased at any time is uncertain and dependent on prevailing market prices and trading volumes, all of which we cannot predict. These activities could have the effect of maintaining the market price of our common stock or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock, and, as a result, the price of our common stock could be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. Repurchases pursuant to the Program could affect the price of our common stock and increase its volatility. The existence of the Program could also cause the price of our common stock to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our common stock. There can be no assurance that any stock repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock could decline below the levels at which we repurchased such shares. Any failure to repurchase shares after we have announced our intention to do so could negatively impact our reputation and investor confidence in us and could negatively impact our stock price. Although the Program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the Program’s effectiveness.
The alternative reference rates that have replaced LIBOR in our credit arrangements and other financial instruments may not yield the same or similar economic results as LIBOR over the life of such transactions.
The London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) is an index rate that historically was widely used in lending transactions and was a common reference rate for setting the floating interest rate on private loans. LIBOR was typically the reference rate used in floating-rate loans extended to our portfolio companies.
The ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”) (the entity that is responsible for calculating LIBOR) ceased providing overnight, one, three, six and twelve months USD LIBOR tenors on June 30, 2023. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which oversees the IBA, now prohibits entities supervised by the FCA from using LIBORs, including USD LIBOR, except in very limited circumstances.
In the United States, SOFR is the preferred alternative rate for LIBOR. SOFR is a measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight, collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities, and is based on directly observable U.S. Treasury-backed repurchase transactions. SOFR is published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York each U.S. Government Securities Business Day, for transactions made on the immediately preceding U.S. Government Securities Business Day. Alternative reference rates that may replace LIBOR, including SOFR for USD transactions, may not yield the same or similar economic results as LIBOR over the lives of such transactions.
As of the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q,
many of our loans that referenced LIBOR have been amended to reference the forward-looking term rate published by CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited based on SOFR (“CME Term SOFR”) or CME Term SOFR plus a fixed spread adjustment. CME Term SOFR rates are forward-looking rates that are derived by compounding projected overnight SOFR rates over one, three, and six months taking into account the values of multiple consecutive, executed, one-month
and three-month CME Group traded SOFR futures contracts and, in some cases, over-the-counter
SOFR Overnight Indexed Swaps as an indicator of CME Term SOFR reference rate values. CME Term SOFR and the inputs on which it is based are derived from SOFR. Since CME Term SOFR is a relatively new market rate, there will likely be no established trading market for credit agreements or other financial instruments when they are issued, and an established market may never develop or may not be liquid. Market terms for instruments referencing CME Term SOFR rates may be lower than those of later-issued CME Term SOFR indexed instruments. Similarly, if CME Term SOFR does not prove to be widely used, the trading price of instruments referencing CME Term SOFR may be lower than those of instruments indexed to indices that are more widely used. Further, the composition and characteristics of SOFR and CME Term SOFR are not the same as those of LIBOR. Even with the application of a fixed spread adjustment, LIBOR and CME Term SOFR will not have the same composition and characteristics, and there can be no assurance that the replacement rate, as so adjusted, will be a direct substitute for LIBOR.
There can be no guarantee that SOFR will not be discontinued or fundamentally altered in a manner that is materially adverse to the interests of investors in loans referencing SOFR. If the manner in which SOFR or CME Term SOFR is calculated is changed, that change may result in a reduction of the amount of interest payable on such loans and the trading prices of the SOFR Loans. In addition, there can be no guarantee that loans referencing SOFR or CME Term SOFR will continue to reference those rates until maturity or that, in the future, our loans will reference benchmark rates other than CME Term SOFR. Should any of these events occur, our loans, and the yield generated thereby, could be affected. Specifically, the anticipated yield on our loans may not be fully realized and our loans may be subject to increased pricing volatility and market risk.
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Item 2.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities, Use of Proceeds, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
We did not engage in unregistered sales of securities during the quarter ended September 30, 2023.
Item 3.
Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.