business. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations and are subject to judicial and administrative decisions that affect our operations, including our loan originations, maximum interest rates, fees and other charges, disclosures to portfolio companies, the terms of secured transactions, collection and foreclosure procedures and other trade practices. If these laws, regulations or decisions change, or if we expand our business into jurisdictions that have adopted more stringent requirements than those in which we currently conduct business, we may have to incur significant expenses in order to comply, or we might have to restrict our operations. In addition, if we do not comply with applicable laws, regulations and decisions, we may lose licenses needed for the conduct of our business and may be subject to civil fines and criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations of financial condition.
If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could be precluded from investing in certain assets or could be required to dispose of certain assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
As a BDC, we are prohibited from acquiring any assets other than “qualifying assets” unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. As of December 31, 2015, approximately $221.6 million, or approximately 18.0%, of our total assets were not “qualifying assets.” If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we will be prohibited from investing in additional non-qualifying assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies (which could result in the dilution of our position) or could require us to dispose of investments at inopportune times in order to come into compliance with the 1940 Act. If we need to dispose of these investments quickly, it may be difficult to dispose of such investments on favorable terms. For example, we may have difficulty in finding a buyer and, even if a buyer is found, we may have to sell the investments at a substantial loss.
We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on all of our income if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under the Code, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial performance.
Although we are currently qualified as a RIC, no assurance can be given that we will be able to maintain RIC status. To maintain RIC status and be relieved of U.S. federal income taxes on income and gains distributed to its stockholders, we generally must meet the annual distribution, source-of-income and asset diversification requirements described below. In addition, our Leverage Program prohibits us from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the 1940 Act or the Leverage Program.
To qualify as a RIC under the Code, we generally must meet certain source-of-income, asset diversification and annual distribution requirements. The annual distribution requirement for a RIC is satisfied if we distribute at least 90% of our ordinary income and net short-term capital gain in excess of net long-term capital loss, if any, to our stockholders. Since we use debt financing, we are subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements and other financial covenants under the terms of the Leverage Program, and we are, in some circumstances, also subject to similar requirements under the 1940 Act. The requirements could, under certain circumstances, restrict us from making distributions necessary to qualify as a RIC. If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify as a RIC and, thus, may be subject to corporate-level income tax. To qualify as a RIC, we generally must also meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each calendar quarter. Failure to meet these tests may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because we anticipate that most of our investments will be in private companies, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and may result in substantial losses.
If we fail to qualify as a RIC for any reason and become subject to corporate-level income tax, the resulting corporate-level income taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions.
We may have difficulty paying our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as original issue discount, which may arise if we receive warrants in connection with the making of a loan or possibly in other circumstances, or PIK interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due in the future, often only at the end of the loan. Such original issue discount, which