Commitments and Contingencies:

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies: [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies:

Note 15. Commitments and Contingencies:

Loan Commitments

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer provided the terms established in the contract are met. Our outstanding loan commitments and approvals to fund new loans were approximately $14.3 million at December 31, 2011, the majority of which were for prime-based loans to be originated under the SBA 7(a) Program, the government guaranteed portion of which is intended to be sold. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates. Since some commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Operating Lease

We lease office space in Dallas, Texas under a lease which expires in February 2015. Future minimum lease payments under this lease are as follows:

		September 30,
Years Ending December 31,	Total
	(In thousands)
2012	$	113
2013		212
2014		217
2015		36
	$	578

Rent expense amounted to $179,000, $168,000 and $186,000 during 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Employment Agreements

We have employment agreements with our executive officers for three-year terms expiring December 31, 2014. Under certain circumstances, as defined within the agreements, the agreements provide for (1) severance compensation or change in control payments to the executive officer in an amount equal to 2.99 times the average of the last three years annual compensation paid to the executive officer and (2) death and disability payments in an amount equal to two times and one time, respectively, the annual compensation paid to the executive officer.

Litigation

In the normal course of business we are periodically party to certain legal actions and proceedings involving matters that are generally incidental to our business (i.e., collection of loans receivable). In management’s opinion, the resolution of these legal actions and proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements.

Other

If the SBA establishes that a loss on an SBA guaranteed loan is attributable to significant technical deficiencies in the manner in which the loan was originated, funded or serviced by our SBLC, the SBA may seek recovery of the principal loss related to the deficiency from us. With respect to the guaranteed portion of SBA loans that have been sold, the SBA will first honor its guarantee and then seek compensation from us in the event that a loss is deemed to be attributable to technical deficiencies. Based on historical experience, we do not expect that this contingency would be material to the financial statements if asserted.

Pursuant to SBA rules and regulations, distributions from our SBLC and SBICs are limited. In order to operate as a small business lending company, a licensee is required to maintain a minimum net worth (as defined by SBA regulations) of the greater of (1) 10% of the outstanding loans receivable of our SBLC or (2) $1.0 million, as well as certain other regulatory restrictions such as change in control provisions. At December 31, 2011, dividends of approximately $1.1 million were available for distribution from our SBLC.