Residential Mortgage Securities and MSR-Related Assets | Residential Mortgage Securities and MSR-Related Assets Agency and Non-Agency MBS The Company’s MBS are comprised of Agency MBS and Non-Agency MBS which include MBS issued prior to 2008 (“Legacy Non-Agency MBS”). These MBS are secured by: (i) hybrid mortgages (“Hybrids”), which have interest rates that are fixed for a specified period of time and, thereafter, generally adjust annually to an increment over a specified interest rate index; (ii) adjustable-rate mortgages (“ARMs”), which have interest rates that reset annually or more frequently (collectively, “ARM-MBS”); and (iii) 15 and 30 year fixed-rate mortgages for Agency MBS and, for Non-Agency MBS, 30-year and longer-term fixed rate mortgages. In addition, the Company’s MBS are also comprised of MBS backed by securitized re-performing/non-performing loans (“RPL/NPL MBS”), where the cash flows of the bond may not reflect the contractual cash flows of the underlying collateral. The Company’s RPL/NPL MBS are generally structured with a contractual coupon step-up feature where the coupon increases from 300 - 400 basis points at 36 - 48 months from issuance or sooner. The Company pledges a significant portion of its MBS as collateral against its borrowings under repurchase agreements and Swaps. (See Note 7 ) Agency MBS: Agency MBS are guaranteed as to principal and/or interest by a federally chartered corporation, such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or an agency of the U.S. Government, such as Ginnie Mae. The payment of principal and/or interest on Ginnie Mae MBS is explicitly backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Since the third quarter of 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which significantly strengthened the backing for these government-sponsored entities. Non-Agency MBS: The Company’s Non-Agency MBS are primarily secured by pools of residential mortgages, which are not guaranteed by an agency of the U.S. Government or any federally chartered corporation. Credit risk associated with Non-Agency MBS is regularly assessed as new information regarding the underlying collateral becomes available and based on updated estimates of cash flows generated by the underlying collateral. CRT Securities CRT securities are debt obligations issued or sponsored by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The payments of principal and interest on the CRT securities are paid by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, as the case may be, on a monthly basis, and are dependent on the performance of loans in either a reference pool or an actual pool of loans. As the loans in the underlying pool are paid, the principal balance of the CRT securities is paid. As an investor in a CRT security, the Company may incur a principal loss if the performance of the actual or reference pool loans results in either an actual or calculated loss that exceeds the credit enhancement of the security owned by the Company. The Company assesses the credit risk associated with CRT securities by assessing the current and expected future performance of the associated loan pool. The Company pledges a portion of its CRT securities as collateral against its borrowings under repurchase agreements. (See Note 7 ) The following tables present certain information about the Company’s residential mortgage securities at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 : September 30, 2019 (In Thousands) Principal/ Current Face Purchase Premiums Accretable Purchase Discounts Discount Designated as Credit Reserve and OTTI (1) Amortized Cost (2) Gross Unrealized Gains Gross Unrealized Losses Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss) Fair Value Agency MBS: (3) Fannie Mae $ 1,217,508 $ 46,917 $ (23 ) $ — $ 1,264,402 $ 10,896 $ (15,282 ) $ (4,386 ) $ 1,260,016 Freddie Mac 526,173 21,303 — — 548,441 5,159 (3,990 ) 1,169 549,610 Ginnie Mae 4,118 76 — — 4,194 53 — 53 4,247 Total Agency MBS 1,747,799 68,296 (23 ) — 1,817,037 16,108 (19,272 ) (3,164 ) 1,813,873 Non-Agency MBS: Expected to Recover Par (4)(5) 917,981 — (14,176 ) — 903,805 17,905 (5 ) 17,900 921,705 Expected to Recover Less than Par (4) 1,611,768 — (88,121 ) (462,095 ) 1,061,552 414,788 (256 ) 414,532 1,476,084 Total Non-Agency MBS (6) 2,529,749 — (102,297 ) (462,095 ) 1,965,357 432,693 (261 ) 432,432 2,397,789 Total MBS 4,277,548 68,296 (102,320 ) (462,095 ) 3,782,394 448,801 (19,533 ) 429,268 4,211,662 CRT securities (7) 364,284 5,882 (117 ) — 370,049 8,084 (241 ) 7,843 377,892 Total MBS and CRT securities $ 4,641,832 $ 74,178 $ (102,437 ) $ (462,095 ) $ 4,152,443 $ 456,885 $ (19,774 ) $ 437,111 $ 4,589,554 December 31, 2018 (In Thousands) Principal/ Current Face Purchase Premiums Accretable Purchase Discounts Discount Designated as Credit Reserve and OTTI (1) Amortized Cost (2) Gross Unrealized Gains Gross Unrealized Losses Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss) Fair Value Agency MBS: (3) Fannie Mae $ 1,716,340 $ 65,930 $ (24 ) $ — $ 1,782,246 $ 12,107 $ (32,321 ) $ (20,214 ) $ 1,762,032 Freddie Mac 909,561 36,991 — — 947,588 907 (17,177 ) (16,270 ) 931,318 Ginnie Mae 4,729 87 — — 4,816 47 — 47 4,863 Total Agency MBS 2,630,630 103,008 (24 ) — 2,734,650 13,061 (49,498 ) (36,437 ) 2,698,213 Non-Agency MBS: Expected to Recover Par (4)(5) 1,536,485 40 (21,725 ) — 1,514,800 20,520 (7,620 ) 12,900 1,527,700 Expected to Recover Less than Par (4) 2,002,319 — (133,300 ) (516,116 ) 1,352,903 438,465 (769 ) 437,696 1,790,599 Total Non-Agency MBS (6) 3,538,804 40 (155,025 ) (516,116 ) 2,867,703 458,985 (8,389 ) 450,596 3,318,299 Total MBS 6,169,434 103,048 (155,049 ) (516,116 ) 5,602,353 472,046 (57,887 ) 414,159 6,016,512 CRT securities (7) 476,744 9,321 107 — 486,172 12,545 (5,896 ) 6,649 492,821 Total MBS and CRT securities $ 6,646,178 $ 112,369 $ (154,942 ) $ (516,116 ) $ 6,088,525 $ 484,591 $ (63,783 ) $ 420,808 $ 6,509,333 (1) Discount designated as Credit Reserve and amounts related to OTTI are generally not expected to be accreted into interest income. Amounts disclosed at September 30, 2019 reflect Credit Reserve of $451.1 million and OTTI of $11.0 million . Amounts disclosed at December 31, 2018 reflect Credit Reserve of $503.3 million and OTTI of $12.8 million . (2) Includes principal payments receivable of $965,000 and $1.0 million at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , respectively, which are not included in the Principal/Current Face. (3) Amounts disclosed at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 include Agency MBS with a fair value of $312.5 million and $736.5 million , respectively, for which the fair value option has been elected. Such securities had gross unrealized gains of $4.1 million and no unrealized losses at September 30, 2019 , and no unrealized gains and gross unrealized losses of approximately $3.3 million at December 31, 2018 , respectively. (4) Based on management ’ s current estimates of future principal cash flows expected to be received. (5) Includes RPL/NPL MBS, which at September 30, 2019 had an $824.8 million Principal/Current face, $824.3 million amortized cost and $828.1 million fair value. At December 31, 2018 , RPL/NPL MBS had a $1.4 billion Principal/Current face, $1.4 billion amortized cost and $1.4 billion fair value. (6) At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , the Company expected to recover approximately 82% and 85% of the then-current face amount of Non-Agency MBS, respectively. (7) Amounts disclosed at September 30, 2019 includes CRT securities with a fair value of $351.4 million for which the fair value option has been elected. Such securities had gross unrealized gains of approximately $7.8 million and gross unrealized losses of approximately $0.2 million at September 30, 2019 . Amounts disclosed at December 31, 2018 includes CRT securities with a fair value of $477.4 million for which the fair value option has been elected. Such securities had gross unrealized gains of approximately $12.5 million and gross unrealized losses of approximately $5.6 million at December 31, 2018 . Sales of Residential Mortgage Securities The following tables present information about the Company’s sales of its residential mortgage securities for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 . The Company has no continuing involvement with any of the sold MBS. Three Months Ended Three Months Ended (In Thousands) Sales Proceeds Gains/(Losses) Sales Proceeds Gains/(Losses) Agency MBS $ 257,289 $ 2,771 $ — $ — Non-Agency MBS 47,867 14,444 24,341 3,391 CRT Securities 28,969 493 118,855 13,024 Total $ 334,125 $ 17,708 $ 143,196 $ 16,415 Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended (In Thousands) Sales Proceeds Gains/(Losses) Sales Proceeds Gains/(Losses) Agency MBS $ 360,634 $ 499 $ 75,306 $ (3,787 ) Non-Agency MBS 244,778 41,420 43,703 12,208 CRT Securities 133,507 8,108 222,877 24,240 Total $ 738,919 $ 50,027 $ 341,886 $ 32,661 Unrealized Losses on Residential Mortgage Securities The following table presents information about the Company’s residential mortgage securities that were in an unrealized loss position at September 30, 2019 : Unrealized Loss Position For: Less than 12 Months 12 Months or more Total Fair Value Unrealized Losses Number of Securities Fair Value Unrealized Losses Number of Securities Fair Value Unrealized Losses (Dollars in Thousands) Agency MBS: Fannie Mae $ 36,775 $ 104 25 $ 660,757 $ 15,178 280 $ 697,532 $ 15,282 Freddie Mac — — — 163,863 3,990 101 163,863 3,990 Ginnie Mae — — — 172 — 1 172 — Total Agency MBS 36,775 104 25 824,792 19,168 382 861,567 19,272 Non-Agency MBS: Expected to Recover Par (1) — — — 7,495 5 1 7,495 5 Expected to Recover Less than Par (1) 2,009 11 1 1,894 245 2 3,903 256 Total Non-Agency MBS 2,009 11 1 9,389 250 3 11,398 261 Total MBS 38,784 115 26 834,181 19,418 385 872,965 19,533 CRT securities (2) 7,189 41 2 24,966 200 7 32,155 241 Total MBS and CRT securities $ 45,973 $ 156 28 $ 859,147 $ 19,618 392 $ 905,120 $ 19,774 (1) Based on management’s current estimates of future principal cash flows expected to be received. (2) Amounts disclosed at September 30, 2019 include CRT securities with a fair value of $32.2 million for which the fair value option has been elected. Such securities had unrealized losses of $241,000 at September 30, 2019 . At September 30, 2019 , the Company did not intend to sell any of its investments that were in an unrealized loss position, and it is “more likely than not” that the Company will not be required to sell these securities before recovery of their amortized cost basis, which may be at their maturity. Gross unrealized losses on the Company’s Agency MBS were $19.3 million at September 30, 2019 . Agency MBS are issued by Government Sponsored Entities (“GSEs”) and enjoy either the implicit or explicit backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. While the Company’s Agency MBS are not rated by any rating agency, they are currently perceived by market participants to be of high credit quality, with risk of default limited to the unlikely event that the U.S. Government would not continue to support the GSEs. Given the credit quality inherent in Agency MBS, the Company does not consider any of the current impairments on its Agency MBS to be credit related. In assessing whether it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell any impaired security before its anticipated recovery, which may be at its maturity, the Company considers for each impaired security, the significance of each investment, the amount of impairment, the projected future performance of such impaired securities, as well as the Company’s current and anticipated leverage capacity and liquidity position. Based on these analyses, the Company determined that at September 30, 2019 any unrealized losses on its Agency MBS were temporary. Gross unrealized losses on the Company’s Non-Agency MBS were $261,000 at September 30, 2019 . Based upon the most recent evaluation, the Company does not consider these unrealized losses to be indicative of OTTI and does not believe that these unrealized losses are credit related, but are rather a reflection of current market yields and/or marketplace bid-ask spreads. The Company has reviewed its Non-Agency MBS that are in an unrealized loss position to identify those securities with losses that are other-than-temporary based on an assessment of changes in expected cash flows for such securities, which considers recent bond performance and, where possible, expected future performance of the underlying collateral. The Company did no t recognize any credit-related OTTI losses through earnings related to its Non-Agency MBS during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 . Non-Agency MBS on which OTTI is recognized have experienced, or are expected to experience, credit-related adverse cash flow changes. The Company’s estimate of cash flows for these Non-Agency MBS is based on its review of the underlying mortgage loans securing these MBS. The Company considers information available about the structure of the securitization, including structural credit enhancement, if any, and the past and expected future performance of underlying mortgage loans, including timing of expected future cash flows, prepayment rates, default rates, loss severities, delinquency rates, percentage of non-performing loans, year of origination, LTVs, geographic concentrations, and dialogue with market participants. Changes in the Company’s evaluation of each of these factors impacts the cash flows expected to be collected at the OTTI assessment date. For Non-Agency MBS purchased at a discount to par that were assessed for and had no OTTI recorded this period, such cash flow estimates indicated that the amount of expected losses decreased compared to the previous OTTI assessment date. These positive cash flow changes are primarily driven by recent improvements in LTVs due to loan amortization and home price appreciation, which, in turn, positively impacts the Company’s estimates of default rates and loss severities for the underlying collateral. In addition, voluntary prepayments (i.e., loans that prepay in full with no loss) have generally trended higher relative to the Company’s assumptions for these MBS which also positively impacts the Company’s estimate of expected loss. Overall, the combination of higher voluntary prepayments and lower LTVs supports the Company’s assessment that such MBS are not other-than-temporarily impaired. The following table presents a roll-forward of the credit loss component of OTTI on the Company’s Non-Agency MBS for which a non-credit component of OTTI was previously recognized in OCI. Changes in the credit loss component of OTTI are presented based upon whether the current period is the first time OTTI was recorded on a security or a subsequent OTTI charge was recorded. Three Months Ended Nine months ended September 30, 2019 (In Thousands) Credit loss component of OTTI at beginning of period $ 39,596 $ 39,596 Additions for credit related OTTI not previously recognized — — Subsequent additional credit related OTTI recorded — — Credit loss component of OTTI at end of period $ 39,596 $ 39,596 Purchase Discounts on Non-Agency MBS The following tables present the changes in the components of the Company’s purchase discount on its Non-Agency MBS between purchase discount designated as Credit Reserve and OTTI and accretable purchase discount for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 : Three Months Ended Three Months Ended (In Thousands) Discount Accretable (1) Discount Accretable Discount (1) Balance at beginning of period $ (479,566 ) $ (117,753 ) $ (553,596 ) $ (202,248 ) Impact of RMBS Issuer Settlement (2) — — — (2,734 ) Accretion of discount — 10,357 — 20,115 Realized credit losses 4,062 — 12,042 — Purchases — — (1,975 ) 1,368 Sales 12,479 6,029 1,552 1,974 Transfers/release of credit reserve 930 (930 ) 10,220 (10,220 ) Balance at end of period $ (462,095 ) $ (102,297 ) $ (531,757 ) $ (191,745 ) Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended (In Thousands) Discount Designated as Credit Reserve and OTTI Accretable Discount (1) Discount Designated as Credit Reserve and OTTI Accretable Discount (1) Balance at beginning of period $ (516,116 ) $ (155,025 ) $ (593,227 ) $ (215,325 ) Impact of RMBS Issuer Settlement (2)(3) — (1,688 ) — (14,822 ) Accretion of discount — 38,215 — 54,860 Realized credit losses 21,482 — 31,443 — Purchases (624 ) 291 (2,510 ) 1,856 Sales 23,842 25,231 7,144 7,079 Transfers/release of credit reserve 9,321 (9,321 ) 25,393 (25,393 ) Balance at end of period $ (462,095 ) $ (102,297 ) $ (531,757 ) $ (191,745 ) (1) Together with coupon interest, accretable purchase discount is recognized as interest income over the life of the security. (2) Includes the impact of approximately $2.7 million of cash proceeds (a one-time payment) received by the Company during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 in connection with the settlement of litigation related to certain residential mortgage backed securitization trusts that were sponsored by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (3) Includes the impact of cash proceeds (a one-time payment) received by the Company in connection with the settlement of litigation related to certain residential mortgage backed securitization trusts that were sponsored by JP Morgan Chase & Co. and affiliated entities of approximately $1.7 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and approximately $12.1 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 . MSR-Related Assets ( a ) Term Notes Backed by MSR-Related Collateral At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , the Company had $1.1 billion and $538.5 million , respectively, of term notes issued by SPVs that have acquired rights to receive cash flows representing the servicing fees and/or excess servicing spread associated with certain MSRs. Payment of principal and interest on these term notes is considered to be largely dependent on cash flows generated by the underlying MSRs, as this impacts the cash flows available to the SPV that issued the term notes. At September 30, 2019 , these term notes had an amortized cost of $1.1 billion , gross unrealized gains of approximately $5.4 million , a weighted average yield of 4.99% and a weighted average term to maturity of 5.7 years . At December 31, 2018 , the term notes had an amortized cost of $538.5 million , gross unrealized losses of $7,000 , a weighted average yield of 5.32% and a weighted average term to maturity of 4.7 years . ( b ) Corporate Loans The Company has made or participated in loans to provide financing to entities that originate residential mortgage loans and own the related MSRs. These corporate loans are secured by MSRs, as well as certain other unencumbered assets owned by the borrower. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company participated in a loan where the Company committed to lend $100.0 million of which approximately $60.2 million was drawn at September 30, 2019 . At September 30, 2019 , the coupon paid by the borrower on the drawn amount is 5.39% , the remaining term associated with the loan is 11 months and the remaining commitment period on any undrawn amount is 11 months . During the remaining commitment period, the Company receives a commitment fee between 0.25% and 1.0% based on the undrawn amount of the loan. In December 2016, the Company entered into a loan agreement under the terms of which it had committed to lend $130.0 million , of which approximately $124.2 million was drawn at March 31, 2018. This loan was paid in full during the three months ended June 30, 2018, at which time any remaining commitment was extinguished. Impact of AFS Securities on AOCI The following table presents the impact of the Company’s AFS securities on its AOCI for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 : Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, (In Thousands) 2019 2018 2019 2018 AOCI from AFS securities: Unrealized gain on AFS securities at beginning of period $ 439,898 $ 548,551 $ 417,167 $ 620,648 Unrealized gain/(loss) on Agency MBS, net 603 (9,177 ) 22,483 (27,507 ) Unrealized gain/(loss) on Non-Agency MBS, net 2,856 (25,101 ) 22,211 (62,979 ) Unrealized gain on MSR term notes, net 2,024 — 5,391 236 Reclassification adjustment for MBS sales included in net income (14,499 ) (9,455 ) (36,370 ) (25,580 ) Change in AOCI from AFS securities (9,016 ) (43,733 ) 13,715 (115,830 ) Balance at end of period $ 430,882 $ 504,818 $ 430,882 $ 504,818 Interest Income on Residential Mortgage Securities and MSR-Related Assets The following table presents the components of interest income on the Company’s residential mortgage securities and MSR- related assets for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 : Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, (In Thousands) 2019 2018 2019 2018 Agency MBS Coupon interest $ 18,994 $ 21,549 $ 66,560 $ 62,546 Effective yield adjustment (1) (7,188 ) (7,217 ) (21,039 ) (19,751 ) Interest income $ 11,806 $ 14,332 $ 45,521 $ 42,795 Legacy Non-Agency MBS Coupon interest $ 21,011 $ 27,026 $ 68,144 $ 83,791 Effective yield adjustment (2)(3) 10,336 18,984 38,003 53,648 Interest income $ 31,347 $ 46,010 $ 106,147 $ 137,439 RPL/NPL MBS Coupon interest $ 13,227 $ 11,526 $ 44,305 $ 31,167 Effective yield adjustment (1)(4) 8 1,131 158 1,206 Interest income $ 13,235 $ 12,657 $ 44,463 $ 32,373 CRT securities Coupon interest $ 5,174 $ 7,257 $ 16,769 $ 23,484 Effective yield adjustment (2) (923 ) 491 (1,224 ) 2,455 Interest income $ 4,251 $ 7,748 $ 15,545 $ 25,939 MSR-related assets Coupon interest $ 15,222 $ 6,387 $ 38,107 $ 18,985 Effective yield adjustment (1) 52 20 125 1,264 Interest income $ 15,274 $ 6,407 $ 38,232 $ 20,249 (1) Includes amortization of premium paid net of accretion of purchase discount. For Agency MBS, RPL/NPL MBS and the corporate loan secured by MSRs, interest income is recorded at an effective yield, which reflects net premium amortization/accretion based on actual prepayment activity. (2) The effective yield adjustment is the difference between the net income calculated using the net yield, which is based on management’s estimates of the amount and timing of future cash flows, less the current coupon yield. (3) Includes accretion income recognized due to the impact of redemptions of certain securities that had been previously purchased at a discount of approximately $2.3 million during the three months ended September 30, 2018 , and $3.1 million and $2.3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 , respectively. (4) Includes accretion income recognized due to the impact of redemptions of certain securities that had been previously purchased at a discount of approximately $4,000 and $1.1 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 , respectively, and $152,000 and $1.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 |