Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Servicing Activities (Notes)

v3.7.0.1
Servicing Activities (Notes)
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Disclosures Pertaining to Servicing Assets and Servicing Liabilities [Abstract]  
Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets [Text Block]
Servicing Activities
Mortgage Servicing Rights, at Fair Value
One of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries has approvals from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae to own and manage MSR, which represent the right to control the servicing of mortgage loans. The Company and its subsidiaries do not originate or directly service mortgage loans, and instead contract with appropriately licensed subservicers to handle substantially all servicing functions for the loans underlying the Company’s MSR.
The following table summarizes activity related to MSR for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016.
 
Three Months Ended
 
March 31,
(in thousands)
2017
 
2016
Balance at beginning of period
$
693,815

 
$
493,688

Additions from purchases of mortgage servicing rights
76,956

 
50,273

Additions from sales of residential mortgage loans
20

 
204

Subtractions from sales of mortgage servicing rights
—

 
—

Changes in fair value due to:
 
 
 
Changes in valuation inputs or assumptions used in the valuation model
3,182

 
(84,359
)
Other changes in fair value (1)
(17,997
)
 
(17,081
)
Other changes (2)
(8,396
)
 
3,445

Balance at end of period
$
747,580

 
$
446,170

____________________
(1)
Other changes in fair value primarily represents changes due to the realization of expected cash flows.
(2)
Other changes includes purchase price adjustments, contractual prepayment protection, and changes due to the Company’s purchase of the underlying collateral.

At March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company pledged MSR with a carrying value of $175.4 million and $180.9 million, respectively, as collateral for revolving credit facilities. See Note 18 - Revolving Credit Facilities.
As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the key economic assumptions and sensitivity of the fair value of MSR to immediate 10% and 20% adverse changes in these assumptions were as follows:
(dollars in thousands)
March 31,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
Weighted average prepayment speed:
9.3
%
 
9.2
%
Impact on fair value of 10% adverse change
$
(27,287
)
 
$
(25,012
)
Impact on fair value of 20% adverse change
$
(53,003
)
 
$
(48,602
)
Weighted average delinquency:
2.0
%
 
1.9
%
Impact on fair value of 10% adverse change
$
(2,056
)
 
$
(1,908
)
Impact on fair value of 20% adverse change
$
(4,112
)
 
$
(3,816
)
Weighted average discount rate:
9.5
%
 
9.4
%
Impact on fair value of 10% adverse change
$
(26,091
)
 
$
(23,590
)
Impact on fair value of 20% adverse change
$
(50,312
)
 
$
(45,861
)


These assumptions and sensitivities are hypothetical and should be considered with caution. Changes in fair value based on 10% and 20% variations in assumptions generally cannot be extrapolated because the relationship of the change in assumptions to the change in fair value may not be linear. Also, the effect of a variation in a particular assumption on the fair value of MSR is calculated without changing any other assumptions. In reality, changes in one factor may result in changes in another (e.g., increased market interest rates may result in lower prepayments and increased credit losses) that could magnify or counteract the sensitivities. Further, these sensitivities show only the change in the asset balances and do not show any expected change in the fair value of the instruments used to manage the interest rates and prepayment risks associated with these assets.
Risk Mitigation Activities
The primary risk associated with the Company’s MSR is interest rate risk and the resulting impact on prepayments. A significant decline in interest rates could lead to higher-than-expected prepayments that could reduce the value of the MSR. The Company economically hedges the impact of these risks with its Agency RMBS portfolio.
Mortgage Servicing Income
The following table presents the components of servicing income recorded on the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss) for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016:
 
Three Months Ended
 
March 31,
(in thousands)
2017
 
2016
Servicing fee income
$
38,500

 
$
33,109

Ancillary fee income
140

 
485

Float income
1,133

 
539

Total
$
39,773

 
$
34,133



Mortgage Servicing Advances
In connection with the servicing of loans, the Company’s subservicers make certain payments for property taxes and insurance premiums, default and property maintenance payments, as well as advances of principal and interest payments before collecting them from individual borrowers. Servicing advances, including contractual interest, are priority cash flows in the event of a loan principal reduction or foreclosure and ultimate liquidation of the real estate-owned property, thus making their collection reasonably assured. These servicing advances, which are funded by the Company, totaled $24.7 million and $26.1 million and were included in other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
Serviced Mortgage Assets
The Company’s total serviced mortgage assets consist of loans underlying MSR, loans held in consolidated VIEs classified as residential mortgage loans held-for-investment in securitization trusts and loans owned and classified as residential mortgage loans held-for-sale. The following table presents the number of loans and unpaid principal balance of the mortgage assets for which the Company manages the servicing as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
 
March 31, 2017
 
December 31, 2016
(dollars in thousands)
Number of Loans
 
Unpaid Principal Balance
 
Number of Loans
 
Unpaid Principal Balance
Mortgage servicing rights
304,515

 
$
68,128,011

 
280,185

 
$
62,827,975

Residential mortgage loans held-for-investment in securitization trusts
4,489

 
3,131,499

 
4,604

 
3,234,044

Residential mortgage loans held-for-sale
265

 
40,912

 
333

 
49,986

Total serviced mortgage assets
309,269

 
$
71,300,422

 
285,122

 
$
66,112,005