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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
3 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES.  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Company guarantees certain loans and financial commitments. The maximum potential future payment under these financial guarantees and the fair value of these guarantees recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at June 30, 2022 and March 31, 2022 were not material. Additionally, the Company has contractual commitments that are noncancellable with certain software and cloud partners to provide services to its customers. During the three months ended June 30, 2022, there were no significant changes to such contractual commitments as presented in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the “2021 Annual Report”), as revised and updated by the 8-K/A.

As a company with approximately 90,000 employees and with clients around the world, Kyndryl is subject to, or could become subject to, either as plaintiff or defendant, a variety of contingencies, including claims, demands and suits, investigations, tax matters and proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of its business. Given the rapidly evolving external landscape of cybersecurity, privacy and data protection laws, regulations and threat actors, the Company or its clients could become subject to actions or proceedings in various jurisdictions. Also, as is typical for companies of Kyndryl’s scope and scale, the Company is subject to, or could become subject to, actions and proceedings in various jurisdictions involving a wide range of labor and employment issues (including matters related to contested employment decisions, country-specific labor and employment laws, and the Company’s benefit plans), as well as actions with respect to contracts, securities, foreign operations, competition law and environmental matters. These actions may be commenced by a number of different parties, including competitors, clients, employees, government and regulatory agencies, stockholders and representatives of the locations in which the Company does business. Some of the actions to which the Company is, or may become, party may involve particularly complex technical issues, and some actions may raise novel questions under the laws of the various jurisdictions in which these matters arise. Additionally, the Company is, or may be, a party to agreements pursuant to which it may be obligated to indemnify the other party with respect to certain matters.

The Company records a provision with respect to a claim, suit, investigation or proceeding when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. In accordance with the relevant accounting guidance, the Company provides disclosures of matters for which the likelihood of material loss is at least reasonably possible. In addition, the Company may also disclose matters based on its consideration of other matters and qualitative factors, including the experience of other companies in the industry, and investor, customer and employee relations considerations.

The Company reviews claims, suits, investigations and proceedings at least quarterly, and decisions are made with respect to recording or adjusting provisions and disclosing reasonably possible losses or range of losses (individually or in the aggregate) to reflect the impact and status of settlement discussions, discovery, procedural and substantive rulings, reviews by counsel and other information pertinent to a particular matter.

Whether any losses, damages or remedies finally determined in any claim, suit, investigation or proceeding could reasonably have a material effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows will depend on a number of variables, including the timing and amount of such losses or damages; the structure and type of any such remedies; the significance of the impact any such losses, damages or remedies may have in the consolidated financial statements; and the unique facts and circumstances of the particular matter that may give rise to additional factors. While the Company will continue to defend itself vigorously, it is possible that the Company’s

business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be affected in any particular period by the resolution of one or more of these matters.

In July 2017, BMC Software, Inc. (“BMC”) filed suit against IBM in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Texas in a dispute involving various aspects of IBM’s business, including its managed infrastructure business. BMC alleged IBM’s removal of BMC software from one of its client’s sites at the client’s request constituted breach of contract, fraudulent inducement and trade secret misappropriation. In May 2022, the trial court entered a judgment against IBM and awarded BMC $717 million in direct damages and $717 million in punitive damages, plus interest. IBM has filed a motion to amend the judgment and has publicly stated that it plans to appeal the judgment and intends to seek a complete reversal on appeal. IBM may seek an indemnity from the Company in connection with this matter. Until there is a final and conclusive judgment in the case after all appeals and proceedings are concluded, until the amount of any applicable insurance is determined, and until a definitive assessment of Kyndryl’s indemnity obligations (if any) occurs, which in the aggregate will likely take several years, the amount of indemnity obligation (if any) that the Company may owe to IBM is indeterminate.

Separately, certain contractual disputes have arisen between Kyndryl and IBM. IBM has commenced arbitration proceedings related to certain of these matters, and Kyndryl has notified IBM of items that Kyndryl disputes. Kyndryl intends to vigorously pursue its interests and defenses in these matters, including asserting its own claims in arbitration if necessary.