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Commitments, Contingencies and Other

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Commitments, Contingencies and Other [Abstract]

Commitments, Contingencies and Other

21. Commitments, Contingencies and Other

Legal and Regulatory Matters

In the normal course of business, the Company may be subject to various proceedings and claims arising from its business activities, including lawsuits, arbitration claims and regulatory matters. The Company is also involved in other reviews, investigations and proceedings by governmental and self-regulatory organizations regarding the business, which may result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions and other relief. In many cases, however, it is inherently difficult to determine whether any loss is probable or reasonably possible or to estimate the amount or range of any potential loss, particularly where proceedings may be in relatively early stages. In the Company’s opinion, based on currently available information, the ultimate resolution of current matters will not have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations as of December 31, 2024. However, resolution of one or more of these matters may have a material effect on the results of operations in any future period, depending upon the ultimate resolution of those matters and depending upon the level of income for such period.

Overnight Financing

As of both December 31, 2024 and 2023, MSCO had an available line of credit for short term overnight demand borrowings with BMO Harris of up to $25 million. As of those dates, MSCO had no outstanding loan balances with BMO Harris and there were no commitment fees or other restrictions on the line of credit. The Company utilizes customer or firm securities as a pledge for short-term borrowing needs.

The interest expense for this credit line was $5,000 and $1,000 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. There were no fees associated with the utilization of this credit line for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Additionally, on November 22, 2024, MSCO entered into a Credit Agreement (the “BMO Credit Agreement”) with BMO Bank N.A. (the “Lender”), a national banking association. The BMO Credit Agreement provides for a revolving credit facility of up to $20,000,000. The Company may use any borrowings under the BMO Credit Agreement to finance NSCC Deposit Requirements (other than an Adequate Assurance Deposit) and withdrawals from a Reserve Account. As part of the agreement, the Company entered into a Parent Guaranty agreement guaranteeing repayment of any debt issued to MSCO.

Borrowings under the BMO Credit Agreement will bear interest on the outstanding daily balance at a rate of interest per annum equal 2.5% plus the greater of: (a) Term SOFR for such day plus 0.11448% and (b) Federal Funds Target Range – Upper Limit and (c) 0.25%. The annual commitment fee is equal to one half of one percent (0.50%) of the average daily unused portion of the commitment of $20,000,000. The BMO Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative covenants and negative covenants and requires MSCO maintain minimum total regulatory capital of $45,000,000, excess net capital of 20,000,000, assets to total regulatory capital ratio of not more than 5.0 to 1.0, and a minimum liquidity ratio of not less than 1.0. The Company satisfied its condition precedent to deliver a legal option to the Lender on December 18, 2024.

There was no interest expense for the BMO Credit Agreement for the year ended December 31, 2024. There was a commitment fee of $3,000 for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Credit Agreement

On August 15, 2024, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with East West Bank (the “Lender”), a California banking corporation, dated as of July 29, 2024. The Credit Agreement provides for a revolving credit facility of up to $20,000,000. The initial term of the Credit Agreement is two years. The Company may use any borrowings under the Credit Agreement for acquisitions, stock buybacks, and for general corporate purposes in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000. Obligations under the Credit Agreement shall be guaranteed by John J. Gebbia, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Gloria E. Gebbia, a Director of the Company, and John J. Gebbia and Gloria E. Gebbia, as co-trustees of the John and Gloria Living Trust.

Borrowings under the Credit Agreement will bear interest on the outstanding daily balance at a rate of interest per annum equal to the greater of: (a) the one-month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“Term SOFR”), as administered by CME Group Benchmark Administration plus 3.15% and (b) 7.50%. The origination fee is equal to one half of one percent (0.50%) of the $20,000,000 revolver cap. The Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative covenants and negative covenants and requires the Company to maintain a minimum debt service coverage ratio of not less than 1.35:1.00 and minimum net capital of $43,000,000.

At the Market Offering

On May 27, 2022, the Company entered into a Capital on Demand^TM Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with JonesTrading as agent, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time through JonesTrading, shares of the Company’s common stock having an aggregate offering amount of up to $9.6 million under the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3. The Company is not obligated to make any sales of shares under the Sales Agreement. The Company agreed to pay JonesTrading a commission rate equal to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of shares. The Company or JonesTrading may suspend or terminate the offering upon notice to the other party and subject to other conditions. Whether the Company sells securities under the Sales Agreement will depend on a number of factors, including the market conditions at that time, the Company’s cash position at that time and the availability and terms of alternative sources of capital.

For both the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not sell any shares pursuant to this Sales Agreement. For both the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not incur any legal or audit fees related to this Sales Agreement.

Since the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 after its scheduled due date, the Company no longer satisfied the eligibility requirements for use of registration statements on Form S-3, which requires that the Company files in a timely manner all reports required to be filed during the prior twelve calendar months. As a result, the Company has suspended use of the shelf registration statement and the Company is not able to access the At the Market program as of the date of this Report.

NFS Contract

Effective August 1, 2021, MSCO entered into an amendment to its clearing agreement with NFS that, among other things, extends the term of the arrangement through July 31, 2025, and NFS’s fees are offset against MSCO’s revenues on a monthly basis. If the MSCO chooses to exit this agreement before the end of the contract term, MSCO is under the obligation to pay an early termination fee upon occurrence pursuant to the table below:

Date of Termination		Early Termination Fee
Prior to August 1, 2025		$	3,250,000

For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there has been no expense recognized for any early termination fees. MSCO believes that it is unlikely it will have to make material payments related to early termination fees and has not recorded any contingent liability in the consolidated financial statements related to this arrangement.

Technology Vendors

The Company has entered into agreements with technology vendors for software development related to its Retail Platform. As of December 31, 2024, the Company incurred costs of approximately $3.4 million for these vendors.

General Contingencies

In the normal course of its business, the Company indemnifies and guarantees certain service providers against specified potential losses in connection with their acting as an agent of, or providing services to, the Company. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these indemnifications cannot be estimated. However, the Company believes that it is unlikely it will have to make material payments under these arrangements and has not recorded any contingent liability in the consolidated financial statements for these indemnifications.

The Company provides representations and warranties to counterparties in connection with a variety of commercial transactions and occasionally indemnifies them against potential losses caused by the breach of those representations and warranties. The Company may also provide standard indemnifications to some counterparties to protect them in the event additional taxes are owed or payments are withheld, due either to a change in or adverse application of certain tax laws. These indemnifications generally are standard contractual terms and are entered into in the normal course of business. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these indemnifications cannot be estimated. However, the Company believes that it is unlikely it will have to make material payments under these arrangements and has not recorded any contingent liability in the consolidated financial statements for these indemnifications.

The Company is self-insured with respect to employee health claims. The Company maintains stop-loss insurance for certain risks and has a health claim reinsurance limit capped at approximately $65,000 per employee as of December 31, 2024.

The estimated liability for self-insurance claims is initially recorded in the year in which the event of loss occurs and may be subsequently adjusted based upon new information and cost estimates. Reserves for losses represent estimates of reported losses and estimates of incurred but not reported losses based on past and current experience. Actual claims paid and settled may differ, perhaps significantly, from the provision for losses. This adds uncertainty to the estimated reserves for losses. Accordingly, it is at least possible that the ultimate settlement of losses may vary significantly from the amounts included in the consolidated financial statements.

As part of this plan, the Company recognized expenses of $1,086,000 and $971,000 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The Company had an accrual of $76,000 and $64,000 as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which represents the estimate of future expenses to be recognized for claims incurred during the period.

The Company believes that its present insurance coverage and reserves are sufficient to cover currently estimated exposures, but there can be no assurance that the Company will not incur liabilities in excess of recorded reserves or in excess of its insurance limits.