Note 5 - Marketable Securities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

5.

Marketable Securities

Prior to

2018,

the Company originated, purchased, securitized, sold, invested in and serviced residential nonconforming mortgage loans and mortgage securities. As a result of those activities, the Company held mortgage securities that were a source of its earnings and cash flow. These mortgage securities consisted entirely of the Company's investment in the interest-only and overcollateralization bonds issued by securitization trusts sponsored by the Company. Maturities of these retained mortgage securities depend on repayment characteristics, performance and other experience of the underlying financial instruments. During

2018,

the Company sold all but

33

non-performing mortgage securities. These sales generated proceeds of

$13.0

million and realized gains of

$12.9

million recognized, included in other income in the Company's consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). Of the

33

mortgage securities retained, the Company determined that these securities have

no

fair value. There were other-than-temporary impairments relating to available-for-sale securities in

2018

of

$0.3

million.

As part of the mortgage securitization process, the Company owned the mortgage servicing rights on the mortgage loans in each securitization deal. These servicing rights were sold to a

third

party on

October 12, 2007

as documented in the Servicing Rights Transfer Agreement by and between Saxon Mortgage Services as purchaser and NovaStar Mortgage, Inc. as seller, which was discussed in the Company's

third

quarter

2007

report on Form

10

-Q. As part of this transaction, the Company retained the clean-up call rights for most of the securitization deals. The Company attempted to sell those clean-up call rights with the securities sold in

2018.

However,

no

bids were received for the clean-up call rights and the Company determined that such clean-up call rights have

no

fair value.