Green Dot 2014 Annual Report Download - page 31

The occurrence of catastrophic events could damage our facilities or the facilities of third parties on which
we depend, which could force us to curtail our operations.
We and some of the third-party service providers on which we depend for various support functions, such as
customer service and card processing, are vulnerable to damage from catastrophic events, such as power loss, natural
disasters, terrorism and similar unforeseen events beyond our control. Our principal offices, for example, are situated
in the foothills of southern California near known earthquake fault zones and areas of elevated wild fire danger. If any
catastrophic event were to occur, our ability to operate our business could be seriously impaired. In addition, we might
not have adequate insurance to cover our losses resulting from catastrophic events or other significant business
interruptions. Any significant losses that are not recoverable under our insurance policies, as well as the damage to,
or interruption of, our infrastructure and processes, could seriously impair our business and financial condition.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial
statements on a timely basis could be impaired, which could result in a loss of investor confidence in our
financial reports and have an adverse effect on our stock price.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial
statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. If we are unable to maintain adequate internal control
over financial reporting, we might be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis and might suffer adverse
regulatory consequences or violate NYSE listing standards. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial
markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. We have in the past
and may in the future discover areas of our internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that need
improvement. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all error and all fraud. A control
system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the
objectives of the control system will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation
of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company
will be detected. If we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce
accurate financial statements on a timely basis, which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and
could result in regulatory action, and could require us to restate, our financial statements. Any such restatement could
result in a loss of public confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and sanctions imposed on us by the
SEC.
Changes in accounting standards or inaccurate estimates or assumptions in the application of accounting
policies could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and
results of operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported
value of our assets or liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management to make
difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions, estimates
or judgments were incorrectly made, we could be required to correct and restate prior period financial statements.
Accounting standard-setters and those who interpret the accounting standards (such as the Financial Accounting
Standards Board, the SEC, banking regulators and our independent registered public accounting firm) may also amend
or even reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how various standards should be applied. These changes
can be difficult to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of
operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the need
to revise and republish prior period financial statements.
Our debt agreements contain restrictive covenants and financial ratio tests that restrict or prohibit our
ability to engage in or enter into a variety of transactions. If we fail to comply with these covenants or tests,
our indebtedness under these agreements could become accelerated, which could adversely affect us.
In October 2014 we entered into a $225.0 million term credit agreement with Bank of America, N.A., as an
administrative agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and other lenders. This agreement contains various
covenants that may have the effect of limiting, among other things, our ability and the ability of certain of our subsidiaries
to: merge with other entities, enter into a transaction resulting in a change in control, create new liens, incur additional
indebtedness, sell assets outside of the ordinary course of business, enter into transactions with affiliates (other than
subsidiaries) or substantially change the general nature of our and our subsidiaries’ business, taken as a whole, make
certain investments, enter into restrictive agreements, or make certain dividends or other distributions. These restrictions
could limit our ability to take advantage of financing, merger, acquisition or other opportunities, to fund our business
operations or to fully implement our current and future operating strategies.
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