v3.26.1
SBA-GUARANTEED DEBENTURES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
SBA-GUARANTEED DEBENTURES  
SBA-GUARANTEED DEBENTURES

NOTE 10 — SBA-GUARANTEED DEBENTURES

Due to the SBIC subsidiaries’ status as licensed SBICs, the Company has the ability to issue debentures guaranteed by the SBA at favorable interest rates. Under the regulations applicable to SBIC funds, a single licensee can have outstanding debentures guaranteed by the SBA subject to a regulatory leverage limit, up to two times the amount of “regulatory capital,” as such term is defined by the SBA. SBA-guaranteed debentures have fixed interest rates that equal prevailing 10-year U.S. Treasury Note rates plus a market spread and have a maturity of ten years with interest payable semi-annually. The principal amount of the SBA-guaranteed debentures is not required to be paid before maturity, but may be pre-paid at any time with no prepayment penalty. SBA-guaranteed debentures are also subject to certain fees payable by the SBICs at the time such debentures are drawn. SBA-guaranteed debentures drawn before October 1, 2019 incur upfront fees of 3.425%, which consists of a 1.00% commitment fee and a 2.425% issuance discount, which are amortized over the life of the SBA-guaranteed debentures. SBA-guaranteed debentures drawn after October 1, 2019 incur upfront fees of 3.435%, which consists of a 1.00% commitment fee and a 2.435% issuance discount, which are amortized over the life of the SBA-guaranteed debentures. Once pooled, which occurs in March and September of each applicable year, the SBA-guaranteed debentures bear interest at a fixed rate that is set to the current 10 year treasury rate plus a spread at each pooling date.

As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the SBIC I subsidiary had $73,625,000 and $75,000,000 in regulatory capital and $85,000,000 and $124,000,000 of SBA-guaranteed debentures outstanding, respectively. During the three months ended ended March 31, 2026, the SBIC I subsidiary repaid $39,000,000 of SBA-guaranteed debentures that matured during the period and returned $1,375,000 of capital to the Company. As of both March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the SBIC II subsidiary had $87,500,000 in regulatory capital and $175,000,000 of SBA-guaranteed debentures outstanding.

On August 12, 2014, the Company obtained exemptive relief from the SEC to permit it to exclude the debt of the SBIC subsidiaries guaranteed by the SBA from its asset coverage test under the 1940 Act. The exemptive relief provides the Company with increased flexibility under the asset coverage test by permitting it to borrow up to $325,000,000 more than it would otherwise be able to absent the receipt of this exemptive relief.

On a stand-alone basis, the SBIC subsidiaries held $457,244,131 and $492,710,365 in assets at March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively, which accounted for approximately 45.7% and 47.3% of the Company’s total consolidated assets, respectively.

The following tables summarize the SBIC subsidiaries’ aggregate SBA-guaranteed debentures outstanding as of March 31, 2026:

Issuance Date

  ​ ​ ​

Licensee

  ​ ​ ​

Maturity Date

  ​ ​ ​

Debenture Amount

  ​ ​ ​

Interest Rate

  ​ ​ ​

SBA Annual Charge

 

November 28, 2017

SBIC I subsidiary

March 1, 2028

$

25,000,000

 

3.19

%  

0.22

%

April 27, 2018

SBIC I subsidiary

September 1, 2028

 

40,000,000

 

3.55

%  

0.22

%

July 30, 2018

SBIC I subsidiary

September 1, 2028

 

17,500,000

 

3.55

%  

0.22

%

September 25, 2018

SBIC I subsidiary

March 1, 2029

 

2,500,000

 

3.11

%  

0.22

%

Total SBIC I subsidiary SBA-guaranteed Debentures

  ​

$

85,000,000

 

  ​

Issuance Date

  ​ ​ ​

Licensee

  ​ ​ ​

Maturity Date

  ​ ​ ​

Debenture Amount

  ​ ​ ​

Interest Rate

  ​ ​ ​

SBA Annual Charge

 

October 17, 2019

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2030

$

6,000,000

 

2.08

%  

0.09

%

November 15, 2019

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2030

 

5,000,000

 

2.08

%  

0.09

%

December 17, 2020

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2031

 

9,000,000

 

1.67

%  

0.09

%

December 17, 2020

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2031

 

6,500,000

 

1.67

%  

0.27

%

February 16, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2031

 

13,500,000

 

1.67

%  

0.27

%

February 26, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2031

 

10,000,000

 

1.67

%  

0.27

%

March 2, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2031

 

10,000,000

 

1.67

%  

0.27

%

April 21, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2031

 

10,000,000

 

1.30

%  

0.27

%

May 14, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2031

 

6,700,000

 

1.30

%  

0.27

%

May 28, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2031

 

7,300,000

 

1.30

%  

0.27

%

July 23, 2021

 

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2031

 

16,000,000

 

1.30

%  

0.27

%

February 25, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2032

10,000,000

2.94

%  

0.27

%

March 29, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2032

10,000,000

4.26

%  

0.27

%

April 1, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2032

6,670,000

4.26

%  

0.27

%

April 12, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2032

6,665,000

4.26

%  

0.27

%

April 21, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2032

6,665,000

4.26

%  

0.27

%

June 30, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2032

3,600,000

4.26

%  

0.27

%

July 28, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2032

6,400,000

4.26

%  

0.27

%

September 9, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2033

6,000,000

5.17

%  

0.27

%

November 9, 2022

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2033

7,600,000

5.17

%  

0.27

%

August 8, 2023

SBIC II subsidiary

September 1, 2033

9,120,000

5.69

%  

0.27

%

September 19, 2023

SBIC II subsidiary

March 1, 2034

2,280,000

5.04

%

0.27

%

Total SBIC II subsidiary SBA-guaranteed Debentures

  ​

$

175,000,000

 

  ​

Total SBA-guaranteed Debentures

  ​

$

260,000,000

 

  ​

The fair values of the SBA-guaranteed debentures are determined in accordance with ASC 820, which defines fair value in terms of the price that would be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date under current market conditions. The fair values of the SBA-guaranteed debentures are estimated based upon market interest rates for our own borrowings or entities with similar credit risk, adjusted for nonperformance risk, if any. As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the SBA-guaranteed debentures would be deemed to be Level 3, as defined in Note 6.

As of both March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the Company has incurred $11,148,750 in financing costs related to the SBA-guaranteed debentures since receiving its licenses, which were recorded as prepaid loan fees. As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, $2,848,951 and $3,015,937 of prepaid financing costs had yet to be amortized, respectively. These prepaid loan fees are presented on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities as a deduction from the debt liability.

The following is a summary of the SBA-guaranteed debentures, net of prepaid loan fees:

March 31, 2026

December 31, 2025

SBA-guaranteed Debentures payable

$

260,000,000

$

299,000,000

Prepaid loan fees

(2,848,951)

(3,015,937)

SBA-guaranteed Debentures, net of prepaid loan fees

$

257,151,049

$

295,984,063

The following table summarizes the interest expense and amortized fees on the SBA-guaranteed debentures for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025:

  ​ ​ ​

For the three months ended

March 31, 2026

March 31, 2025

Interest expense

$

2,282,892

$

2,540,360

Debenture fee amortization

 

166,986

 

188,984

 

Total interest and financing expenses

$

2,449,878

$

2,729,344

Weighted average interest rate

 

3.3

%  

 

3.3

%  

Effective interest rate (including fee amortization)

 

3.5

%  

 

3.5

%  

Average debt outstanding

$

284,700,000

$

316,694,444

Cash paid for interest

$

4,803,285

$

5,188,661