The
COVID-19
pandemic has materially impacted and continues to materially impact the markets in which the Company operates. It has caused significant volatility in market liquidity as well as fluctuations in yields required by market investors in the type of financial instruments originated by the Company’s primary operating subsidiaries. While vaccine availability and uptake has increased, the longer-term macro-economic effects of the pandemic on global supply chains, inflation, labor shortages and wage increases continue to impact many industries, including the industries in which our Company and its subsidiaries operate. Moreover, with the potential for new strains of
COVID-19
to emerge, governments and businesses may
re-impose
aggressive measures to help slow its spread in the future. For this reason, among others, as the
COVID-19
pandemic continues, the potential global impacts are uncertain and difficult to assess.
In the U.S., significant fiscal stimulus measures, monetary policy actions and other relief measures helped to moderate the negative economic impacts of COVID-19. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted into law. In March 2021, the U.S. federal government passed a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), which together with the CARES Act and other fiscal stimulus measures-enacted by the federal government, provided for, among other things, funding to state and local governments, direct payments to households, support for small businesses, renter assistance and funding for transport, airlines, healthcare and education. Monetary policy decisions included quantitative easing (such as a decrease in the benchmark interest rates) and the provision of liquidity to financial institutions and credit markets. Many of the federal, state and local government enacted measures which provided relief in the housing market, such as forbearance on mortgages, foreclosure and eviction, however, such relief measures have since lapsed or are set to lapse in 2022.
Further, in the recent months, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) has shifted its monetary policies and scaled back certain of the measures it had initially put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to combat inflationary pressures in the U.S. The combined disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine has, among other things, caused global supply chain issues and oil and other commodity price increases. These global macroeconomic events (among others) have in turn contributed to significant increases in consumer prices in the U.S. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (“CPI”), a widely followed inflation gauge published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, increased 7.0% from December 2020 to December 2021, its highest rate in nearly forty (40) years. The CPI rose 8.5% in March 2022 compared with a year earlier. The general effects of inflation on the economy of the United States can be wide ranging, evidenced by rising wages and rising costs of consumer goods and necessities. On March 16, 2022, in an effort to tamp down inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the first time since December 2018 and signaled future rate increases. Additionally, the Federal Reserve has announced plans to decrease purchases of government and mortgage-related bonds. Volatility in market conditions, resulting from the foregoing events have caused and may continue to cause credit spreads to widen, which reduces, among other things, availability of credit to our Company on favorable terms, liquidity in the market and price transparency of real estate related or asset-backed assets.
Our Company is actively monitoring these events and their effects on the Company’s financial condition, liquidity, operations, industry, and workforce.
These continuing economic impacts, and the continuation of the pandemic itself, may cause additional volatility in the financial markets and may have an adverse effect on the Company’s results of future operations, financial position, intangible assets and liquidity in 2022 and beyond. See Results of Operations.
For further discussion on the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies, see “Risks Related to the Business of the Company—Risks Related to COVID-19”, “—Our business is significantly impacted by interest rates. Changes in prevailing interest rates or U.S. monetary policies that affect interest rates may have a detrimental effect on our business”, “—Our hedging strategies may not be successful in mitigating our risks associated with changes in interest rates; our Company is exposed to other credit risk.” and “—Escalating global trade tensions, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the adoption or expansion of economic sanctions or trade restrictions could negatively impact us” under the section entitled “Item 1A.Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on 10-K filed with the SEC on March 15, 2022, as such risk factors may be amended or updated in our subsequent periodic reports.
Reorganization Transactions
FoA was incorporated in October 2020 and is a financial services holding corporation, the principal asset of which is a controlling interest in FoA Equity. The business, property and affairs of FoA Equity are managed by a board of managers, appointed by FoA at its sole discretion. In periods subsequent to the April 1, 2021 closing of the Business Combination, FoA consolidates FoA Equity and reports a
non-controlling
interest related to the Class A LLC Units held by the Continuing Unitholders in FoA’s Consolidated Financial Statements.