GUARANTEES, OTHER CONTINGENT LIABILITIES, AND OTHER MATTERS Guarantees and Other Contingent Liabilities Guarantees of Bank Loans and Other Contingent Liabilities Guarantees of bank loans to growers for crop financing and construction of curing barns or other tobacco producing assets are industry practice in Brazil and support the farmers  production of tobacco there. At September 30, 2012 , the Company s total exposure under guarantees issued by its operating subsidiary in Brazil for banking facilities of farmers in that country was approximately $14 million ( $16 million face amount including unpaid accrued interest, less $2 million recorded for the fair value of the guarantees). All of these guarantees expire within one year. The subsidiary withholds payments due to the farmers on delivery of tobacco and forwards those payments to the third-party banks. Failure of farmers to deliver sufficient quantities of tobacco to the subsidiary to cover their obligations to the third-party banks could result in a liability for the subsidiary under the related guarantees; however, in that case, the subsidiary would have recourse against the farmers. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company s subsidiary could be required to make at September 30, 2012 was the face amount, $16 million including unpaid accrued interest ( $47 million at September 30, 2011 , and $26 million at March 31, 2012 ). The fair value of the guarantees was a liability of approximately $2 million at September 30, 2012 ( $13 million at September 30, 2011 , and $6 million at March 31, 2012 ). In addition to these guarantees, the Company has other contingent liabilities totaling approximately $4 million at September 30, 2012 . European Commission Fines in Italy In 2002, the Company reported that it was aware that the European Commission (the "Commission") was investigating certain aspects of the leaf tobacco markets in Italy. Deltafina buys and processes tobacco in Italy. The Company reported that it did not believe that the Commission