Greetings. Welcome to ArrowMark Financial Corp. Fourth Quarter 2021 Investor Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions]. Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Julie Muraco, Investor Relations of ArrowMark Financial Corp. formerly known as StoneCastle Financial Corp. Thank you. You may begin.

Before we begin this conference call, I'd like to remind everyone that certain statements made during the call may be considered forward-looking statements based on current management expectations that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results stated in or implied by these forward-looking statements. This would depend on numerous factors, such as changes in securities or financial markets or general economic conditions; the volume of sales and purchases of shares of common stock; the continuation of investment advisory, administrative and service contracts; and other risks discussed from time to time in the company's filings with the SEC, including annual and semiannual reports of the company. ArrowMark Financial has based the forward-looking statements included in this presentation on information available to us as of December 31, 2021. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of today, February 28, 2022. In today's call, the management of ArrowMark Financial will be providing prepared remarks. Investors will have the opportunity to address their questions directly to management by calling Investor Relations at 212-468-5441 or emailing jmuraco@arrowmarkpartners.com. Now I will turn the call over to Sanjai Bhonsle.

Thank you, Julie. Good afternoon, and welcome to ArrowMark Financial's Fourth Quarter Investor Call for 2021. Along with Julie, here with me today is Pat Farrell, our CFO. I would like to start off with an announcement regarding the name change for our company. I'm pleased to report that subsequent to the end of the year, the company transitioned its name from StoneCastle Financial Corp. to ArrowMark Financial Corp. effective February 24. We're excited to have the company's new name, reflect the resources of ArrowMark Partners in its entirety. Nothing else has changed. ArrowMark Financial continues with the same management and same investment strategy and objectives. ArrowMark Financial shareholders will continue to reap the benefits of ArrowMark Partners' wider platform and its deep knowledge of banking-related investments. Now on to the call. In the next few minutes, I'll briefly comment on the recent geopolitical events and its effects on the credit markets before commenting on the company. Then I will provide ArrowMark Financial's quarterly results and portfolio review, and Pat will provide you with greater details on our financial results. Starting with the geopolitical events, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued to negatively impact global markets. We believe that our investment portfolio, which is made up of securities, primarily issued by money center banks and U.S. community banks are relatively well insulated from this geopolitical risk. Our investments are highly diversified among industry sectors and geographies. As we take a look at the banks, they have been reporting Q4 earnings flat to slightly ahead of expectations. For banks that I've already reported, in general, fourth quarter loan balances continued to grow modestly as was the case in the third quarter last year. We expect that this loan growth trend will continue. It will not only be accretive to bank…

Thank you, Sanjai. As I do each quarter, I will present the financial results by going through the components of the company's quarterly results in detail. The net asset value on December 31 was $21.70 per share, down $0.16 from the prior quarter. The decline in NAV in part reflects the company's fourth quarter declared dividend of $0.38 plus an additional $0.10 special dividend. Now on to the breakdown of the NAV components. The NAV is comprised of 4 components: net investment income; realized capital gains and losses; the change in value of the portfolio's investments; and lastly, distributions paid during the period. Let's review these components. Gross income for the quarter was approximately $4.5 million or $0.64 per share. Total expenses for the quarter were $1.6 million or $0.23 per share, resulting in net investment income for the quarter of $2.9 million or $0.41 per share. As is the case every quarter, the timing of calls and pay downs impact the income generation of the company. Realized capital gains and losses in the quarter is the second component affecting the change in NAV. The net realized capital gains from investment activities were approximately $2.2 million or $0.32 per share. The third component, changes in unrealized appreciation or depreciation of the portfolio, relates to how the value of the entire investment portfolio has changed from the previous quarter ends to the current quarter end. For the fourth quarter, the change in net unrealized depreciation on investments and foreign currency transactions was approximately $2.9 million or $0.41 per share. I want to point out the gains and losses from foreign currency hedging activities do not impact our net income. The fourth component affecting the change in net asset value is distribution. The regular cash distribution for the quarter was $0.38 per…

Thank you, Pat. I'd like to thank everyone on the call for listening in today. As always, I look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you soon. Good night.

Thank you. This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation. End of Q&A: