We and our subsidiaries are subject to various pending or threatened legal proceedings arising out of the normal course of business operations. In addition, the Bank is routinely named in civil actions throughout the country by borrowers and former borrowers relating to the origination, purchase, sale, and servicing of mortgage loans. From time to time, governmental agencies also conduct investigations or examinations of various practices of the Bank. In the course of such investigations or examinations, the Bank cooperates with such agencies and provides information as requested.

We assess the liabilities and loss contingencies in connection with pending or threatened legal and regulatory proceedings on at least a quarterly basis and establish accruals when we believe it is probable that a loss may be incurred and that the amount of such loss can be reasonably estimated. Once established, litigation accruals are adjusted, as appropriate, in light of additional information.

At June 30, 2020, we do not believe that the amount of any reasonably possible losses in excess of any amounts accrued with respect to ongoing proceedings or any other known claims will be material to our financial statements, or that the ultimate outcome of these actions will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

On February 24, 2012, the Bank entered into a Settlement Agreement with the DOJ under which we agreed to make future payments totaling $118 million in annual increments of up to $25 million upon meeting all of the following conditions which are evaluated quarterly and include: (a) the reversal of the DTA valuation allowance, which occurred at the end of 2013; (b) the repayment of the Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series C (the "TARP Preferred"), which occurred in July 2016; and (c) the Bank having a Tier 1 Leverage Capital Ratio of 11 percent or greater as filed in the Call Report with the OCC.

No payment would be required until six months after the Bank files its Call Report with the OCC first reporting that its Tier 1 Leverage Capital Ratio was 11 percent or greater. If all other conditions were then satisfied, an initial annual payment would be due at that time. The next annual payment is only made if such other conditions continue to be satisfied, otherwise payments are delayed until all such conditions are met. Further, making such a payment must not violate any material banking regulatory requirement, and the OCC must not object in writing.

Consistent with our business and regulatory requirements, Flagstar shall seek in good faith to fulfill the conditions, and will not undertake any conduct or fail to take any action the purpose of which is to frustrate or delay our ability to fulfill any of the above conditions.

Additionally, if the Bank and Bancorp become party to a business combination in which the Bank or Bancorp represent less than 33.3 percent of the resulting company’s assets, annual payments must commence twelve months after the date of that business combination.

The Settlement Agreement meets the definition of a financial instrument for which we elected the fair value option. We consider the assumptions a market participant would make to transfer the liability and evaluate the potential ways we might satisfy the Settlement Agreement and our estimates of the likelihood of these outcomes, which may change over time. The fair value of the liability is subject to significant uncertainty and is impacted by forecasted estimates of the timing of potential payments, some of which are impacted by inputs including estimates of equity, earnings, timing and amount of dividends and growth of the balance sheet and their related impacts on forecasted Tier 1 Leverage Capital Ratio discount rate, and the likelihood and types of potential business combinations, or any other means by which a payment could be made. For further information on the fair value of the liability, see Note 16 - Fair Value Measurements.

At June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, excluding the fair value liability relating to the DOJ Liability, our total accrual for contingent liabilities and settled litigation was $6 million and $3 million, respectively.


	June 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
	(Dollars in millions)
Commitments to extend credit
Mortgage loan commitments including interest-rate locks	$	11,362	$	4,099
Warehouse loan commitments	2,718		1,944
Commercial and industrial commitments	960		1,107
Other commercial commitments	1,736		2,015
HELOC commitments	557		558
Other consumer commitments	478		175
Standby and commercial letters of credit	100		82

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is not a violation of any condition established in the contract. Because many of these commitments expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash flow requirements. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. We evaluate each customer's credit worthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by us, upon extension of credit is based on management's credit evaluation of the counterparties.

These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk beyond the amount recognized on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. Our exposure to credit losses in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. We utilize the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as we do for balance sheet instruments. The types of credit we extend are as follows:

Mortgage loan commitments including interest-rate locks. We enter into mortgage loan commitments, including interest-rate locks with our customers. These interest-rate lock commitments are considered to be derivative instruments and the fair value of these commitments is recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition in other assets. For further information, see Note 8 - Derivative Financial Instruments.

Warehouse loan commitments. Lines of credit provided to mortgage originators to fund loans they originate and then sell. The proceeds of the sale of the loans are used to repay the draw on the line used to fund the loans.

Commercial and industrial and other commercial commitments. Conditional commitments issued under various terms to lend funds to businesses and other entities. These commitments include revolving credit agreements, term loan commitments and short-term borrowing agreements. Many of these loan commitments have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Because many of these commitments are expected to expire without being funded, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future liquidity requirements.

HELOC commitments. Commitments to extend, originate or purchase credit are primarily lines of credit to consumers and have specified rates and maturity dates. Many of these commitments also have adverse change clauses, which allow us to cancel the commitment due to deterioration in the borrowers’ creditworthiness or a decline in the collateral value.

Other consumer commitments. Conditional commitments issued to accommodate the financial needs of customers. The commitments are made under various terms to lend funds to consumers, which include revolving credit agreements, term loan commitments and short-term borrowing agreements.

Standby and commercial letters of credit. Conditional commitments issued to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Standby letters of credit generally are contingent upon the failure of the customer to perform according to the terms of the underlying contract with the third party, while commercial letters of credit are issued specifically to facilitate commerce and typically result in the commitment being drawn on when the underlying transaction is consummated between the customer and the third party. These financial standby letters of credit irrevocably obligate the bank to pay a third party beneficiary when a customer fails to repay an outstanding loan or debt instrument.