Agency Securities, Available for Sale | Note 6 -Agency Securities, Available for Sale All of our Agency Securities are classified as available for sale securities and, as such, are reported at their estimated fair value and changes in fair value reported as part of the statements of comprehensive income. At December 31, 2015 , investments in Agency Securities accounted for 72.25% of our MBS portfolio. At December 31, 2014 , investments in Agency Securities accounted for 87.13% of our MBS portfolio and 86.50% of our total MBS portfolio inclusive of the Non-Agency Securities underlying our Linked Transactions (see Note 8 , “ Linked Transactions ” for additional discussion of Linked Transactions through December 31, 2014 ). We evaluated our Agency Securities with unrealized losses at December 31, 2015 , December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 , to determine whether there was an other than temporary impairment. All of our Agency Securities are issued and guaranteed by GSEs. The GSEs have a long term credit rating of AA+. At those dates, we also considered whether we intended to sell Agency Securities and whether it was more likely than not that we could meet our liquidity requirements and contractual obligations without selling Agency Securities. There was no other than temporary impairment recognized for the year ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 . In December 2013, anticipating portfolio repositioning sales in the first quarter of 2014, we concluded that the December 31, 2013 unrealized losses on our 25-year and 30-year fixed rate Agency Securities represented an other than temporary impairment. Accordingly, we recognized losses totaling $(44,278) in our 2013 statements of operations, thereby establishing a new cost basis for Agency Securities with aggregate fair value of $744,600 at December 31, 2013. We also determined that at December 31, 2013, there was no other than temporary impairment of our other Agency Securities, which were primarily 20-year and 15-year fixed rate securities. At December 31, 2015 , we had the following securities in an unrealized gain or loss position as presented below. The components of the carrying value of our Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 are also presented below. All of our Agency Securities are fixed rate securities with a weighted average coupon of 3.29% at December 31, 2015 . December 31, 2015 Amortized Cost Gross Unrealized Loss Gross Unrealized Gain Fair Value Percent of Total Fannie Mae Multi-Family MBS $ 131,071 $ (493 ) $ 896 $ 131,474 21.51 % 10 Year Fixed 2,071 — — 2,071 0.34 15 Year Fixed 306,354 (216 ) 355 306,493 50.14 20 Year Fixed 25,761 (776 ) — 24,985 4.09 30 Year Fixed 26,347 (325 ) — 26,022 4.26 Total Fannie Mae $ 491,604 $ (1,810 ) $ 1,251 $ 491,045 80.34 % Freddie Mac 30 Year Fixed $ 123,209 $ (2,995 ) $ — $ 120,214 19.66 % Total Freddie Mac $ 123,209 $ (2,995 ) $ — $ 120,214 19.66 % Total Agency Securities $ 614,813 $ (4,805 ) $ 1,251 $ 611,259 100.00 % At December 31, 2014 , we had the following securities in an unrealized gain or loss position as presented below. The components of the carrying value of our Agency Securities at December 31, 2014 are also presented below. All of our Agency Securities were fixed rate securities with a weighted average coupon of 3.25% at December 31, 2014 . December 31, 2014 Amortized Cost Gross Unrealized Loss Gross Unrealized Gain Fair Value Percent of Total Fannie Mae Multi-Family MBS $ 230,799 $ — $ 2,903 $ 233,702 21.73 % 15 Year Fixed 790,238 (26 ) 6,031 796,243 74.03 20 Year Fixed 45,881 (652 ) 347 45,576 4.24 Total Fannie Mae $ 1,066,918 $ (678 ) $ 9,281 $ 1,075,521 100.00 % Total Agency Securities $ 1,066,918 $ (678 ) $ 9,281 $ 1,075,521 Actual maturities of Agency Securities are generally shorter than stated contractual maturities because actual maturities of Agency Securities are affected by the contractual lives of the underlying mortgages, periodic payments of principal and prepayments of principal. The following table summarizes the weighted average lives of our Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 . December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014 Weighted Average Life of all Agency Securities Fair Value Amortized Cost Fair Value Amortized Cost Less than one year $ — $ — $ — $ — Greater than or equal to one year and less than three years — — — — Greater than or equal to three years and less than five years 308,565 308,425 702,485 697,385 Greater than or equal to five years 302,694 306,388 373,036 369,533 Total Agency Securities $ 611,259 $ 614,813 $ 1,075,521 $ 1,066,918 We use a third party model to calculate the weighted average lives of our Agency Securities. Weighted average life is calculated based on expectations for estimated prepayments for the underlying mortgage loans of our Agency Securities. These estimated prepayments are based on assumptions such as interest rates, current and future home prices, housing policy and borrower incentives. The weighted average lives of our Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 in the table above are based upon market factors, assumptions, models and estimates from the third party model and also incorporate management’s judgment and experience. The actual weighted average lives of our Agency Securities could be longer or shorter than estimated. The following table presents the unrealized losses and estimated fair value of our Agency Securities by length of time that such securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 . Unrealized Loss Position For: Less than 12 Months 12 Months or More Total As of Fair Value Unrealized Losses Fair Value Unrealized Losses Fair Value Unrealized Losses December 31, 2015 $ 342,561 $ (4,029 ) $ 24,985 $ (776 ) $ 367,546 $ (4,805 ) December 31, 2014 $ 58,363 $ (26 ) $ 27,640 $ (652 ) $ 86,003 $ (678 ) During the year ended December 31, 2015 we sold $560,255 of Agency Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $5,106 . During the year ended December 31, 2014 , we sold $1,028,849 of Agency Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $8,254 . Sales of Agency Securities are done to reposition our securities portfolio and to reach our target level of liquidity. Note 7 -Non-Agency Securities, Trading All of our Non-Agency Securities are classified as trading securities and reported at their estimated fair value. Fair value changes are reported in the consolidated statements of operations in the period in which they occur. As the result of the adoption of ASU No. 2014-11, Repurchase-to-Maturity Transactions, Repurchase Financings, and Disclosures, Transfers and Servicing (Topic 860), effective January 1, 2015, we completed the purchase of Non-Agency Securities with a fair value of $8,940 that were previously treated as Linked Transactions with repayment at maturity of related repurchase agreement borrowings of $6,408 . At December 31, 2015 , investments in Non-Agency Securities accounted for 27.75% of our MBS portfolio. The components of the carrying value of our Non-Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 are presented in the table below. Non-Agency Securities December 31, 2015 Fair Value Amortized Cost Principal Amount Weighted Average Coupon Prime Fixed $ 36,784 $ 34,991 $ 40,923 5.30 % Prime Hybrid 14,137 12,752 16,243 2.35 % Prime Floater 33,612 33,789 34,750 4.59 % Alt-A Fixed 72,123 68,062 87,910 5.88 % Alt-A Hybrid 6,999 6,578 8,342 2.61 % Non Performing Loans 71,145 72,198 72,361 3.44 % Total Non-Agency Securities $ 234,800 $ 228,370 $ 260,529 4.56 % At December 31, 2014 , investments in Non-Agency Securities accounted for 12.87% of our MBS portfolio and 13.50% of our total MBS portfolio inclusive of the Non-Agency Securities underlying our Linked Transactions (see Note 8 , “ Linked Transactions ” for additional discussion of Linked Transactions through December 31, 2014 ). The components of the carrying value of our Non-Agency Securities at December 31, 2014 are presented in the table below. Non-Agency Securities December 31, 2014 Fair Value Amortized Cost Principal Amount Weighted Average Coupon Prime Fixed $ 41,288 $ 40,894 $ 47,806 5.43 % Prime Hybrid 15,592 13,982 18,565 2.29 % Prime Floater 18,625 19,380 19,750 4.22 % Alt-A Fixed 75,072 70,986 88,965 5.99 % Alt-A Hybrid 8,354 7,972 9,998 2.50 % Total Non-Agency Securities $ 158,931 $ 153,214 $ 185,084 5.09 % Prime/Alt-A Non-Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 include senior tranches in securitization trusts issued between 2004 and 2007, and are collateralized by residential mortgages originated between 2002 and 2007. The loans were originally considered to be either prime or one tier below prime credit quality. Prime mortgage loans are residential mortgage loans that are considered the highest tier with the most stringent underwriting standards within the Non-agency mortgage market, but do not carry any credit guarantee from either a U.S. Government agency or GSE. These loans were originated during a period when underwriting standards were generally weak and housing prices have dropped significantly subsequent to their origination. As a result, there is still material credit risk embedded in these vintage tranches. Alt-A, or alternative A-paper, mortgage loans are considered riskier than prime mortgage loans and less risky than sub-prime mortgage loans and are typically characterized by borrowers with less than full documentation, lower credit scores, higher loan to value ratios and a higher percentage of investment properties. These securities were generally rated below investment grade at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 . The following table summarizes the weighted average lives of our Non-Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 . December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014 Weighted Average Life of all Non-Agency Securities Fair Value Amortized Cost Fair Value Amortized Cost Less than one year $ 15,394 $ 15,552 $ — $ — Greater than or equal to one year and less than three years 67,170 68,171 — — Greater than or equal to three years and less than five years 17,684 16,848 20,045 19,866 Greater than or equal to five years 134,552 127,799 138,886 133,348 Total Non-Agency Securities $ 234,800 $ 228,370 $ 158,931 $ 153,214 We use a third party model to calculate the weighted average lives of our Non-Agency Securities. Weighted average life is calculated based on expectations for estimated prepayments for the underlying mortgage loans of our Non-Agency Securities. These estimated prepayments are based on assumptions such as interest rates, current and future home prices, housing policy and borrower incentives. The weighted average lives of our Non-Agency Securities at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 in the table above are based upon market factors, assumptions, models and estimates from the third party model and also incorporate management’s judgment and experience. The actual weighted average lives of our Non-Agency Securities could be longer or shorter than estimated. The following table presents the unrealized losses and estimated fair value of our Non-Agency Securities by length of time that such securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 . Unrealized Loss Position For: Less than 12 Months 12 Months or More Total As of Fair Value Unrealized Losses Fair Value Unrealized Losses Fair Value Unrealized Losses December 31, 2015 $ 83,806 $ (1,172 ) $ 4,388 $ (247 ) $ 88,194 $ (1,419 ) December 31, 2014 $ 19,166 $ (1,029 ) $ 5,893 $ (296 ) $ 25,059 $ (1,325 ) Our Non-Agency Securities are subject to risk of loss with regard to principal and interest payments and at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , have generally either been assigned below investment grade ratings by rating agencies, or have not been rated. We evaluate each investment based on the characteristics of the underlying collateral and securitization structure, rather than relying on the ratings assigned by rating agencies. In April 2014, we entered in to a long term collateral exchange agreement whereby we will receive approximately $50,000 of U.S. Treasury Securities or cash for two years (declining to $30,000 for a third year) in exchange for certain of our Non-Agency Securities. At December 31, 2015 , our repurchase agreement balance on our consolidated balance sheet includes borrowing against these U.S. Treasury Securities pledged to us under this agreement. |