DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Derivative Financial Instruments [Abstract]

NOTE 4. DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

In connection with its interest rate risk management strategy, the Company economically hedges a portion of the cost of its repurchase agreement funding by entering into derivatives and other hedging contracts. To date, the Company has entered into Eurodollar and T-Note futures contracts, interest rate swaps, and interest rate swaptions, but may enter into other contracts in the future. The Company has not elected hedging treatment under GAAP, and as such all gains or losses (realized and unrealized) on these instruments are reflected in earnings for all periods presented.

In addition, the Company utilizes TBA securities as a means of investing in and financing Agency RMBS or as a means of reducing its exposure to Agency RMBS. The Company accounts for TBA securities as derivative instruments if either the TBA securities do not settle in the shortest period of time possible or if the Company cannot assert that it is probable at inception and throughout the term of the TBA securities that it will take physical delivery of the Agency RMBS for a long position, or make delivery of the Agency RMBS for a short position, upon settlement of the trade.

Derivative Assets (Liabilities), at Fair Value

The table below summarizes fair value information about our derivative assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.

(in thousands)
Derivative Instruments and Related Accounts	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
Assets
Interest rate swaps	Derivative assets, at fair value	$	16,762	$	13,745
Payer swaptions	Derivative assets, at fair value		123		3,405
TBA securities	Derivative assets, at fair value		-		10
Total derivative assets, at fair value		$	16,885	$	17,160

Liabilities
Interest rate swaps	Derivative liabilities, at fair value	$	2,205	$	215
TBA securities	Derivative liabilities, at fair value		3,742		1,823
Total derivative liabilities, at fair value		$	5,947	$	2,038

Margin Balances Posted to (from) Counterparties
Futures contracts	Restricted cash	$	4,711	$	5,545
TBA securities	Restricted cash		6,236		1,508
TBA securities	Other liabilities		-		(59)
Interest rate swaption contracts	Other liabilities		(268)		(3,505)
Interest rate swap contracts	Other liabilities		(14,308)		(6,045)
Total margin balances on derivative contracts		$	(3,629)	$	(2,556)

Eurodollar and T-Note futures are cash settled futures contracts on an interest rate, with gains and losses credited or charged to the Company’s cash accounts on a daily basis. A minimum balance, or “margin”, is required to be maintained in the account on a daily basis. The tables below present information related to the Company’s Eurodollar and T-Note futures positions at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

($ in thousands)
			December 31, 2018
			Average	Weighted	Weighted
			Contract	Average	Average
			Notional	Entry	Effective		Open
Expiration Year			Amount	Rate	Rate		Equity⁽¹⁾
Eurodollar Futures Contracts (Short Positions)
2019		$	1,650,000	2.25%	2.64%	$	7,036
2020			1,800,000	2.74%	2.45%		(4,503)
Total / Weighted Average		$	1,725,000	2.51%	2.54%	$	2,533

Treasury Note Futures Contracts (Short Position)⁽²⁾
March 2019 5-year T-Note futures
	(Mar 2019 - Mar 2024 Hedge Period)	$	165,000	3.22%	2.83%	$	(3,185)

($ in thousands)
			December 31, 2017
			Average	Weighted	Weighted
			Contract	Average	Average
			Notional	Entry	Effective		Open
Expiration Year			Amount	Rate	Rate		Equity⁽¹⁾
Eurodollar Futures Contracts (Short Positions)
2018		$	1,212,500	1.86%	1.98%	$	1,418
2019			1,350,000	2.11%	2.27%		2,152
2020			987,500	2.59%	2.36%		(2,360)
Total / Weighted Average		$	1,183,333	2.16%	2.20%	$	1,210

Treasury Note Futures Contracts (Short Position)⁽²⁾
March 2018 10 year T-Note futures
	(Mar 2018 - Mar 2028 Hedge Period)	$	140,000	2.23%	2.33%	$	755

Under our interest rate swap agreements, we typically pay a fixed rate and receive a floating rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) ("payer swaps"). The floating rate we receive under our swap agreements has the effect of offsetting the repricing characteristics of our repurchase agreements and cash flows on such liabilities. We are typically required to post collateral on our interest rate swap agreements. The table below presents information related to the Company’s interest rate swap positions at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

($ in thousands)
			Average			Net
			Fixed	Average		Estimated	Average
		Notional	Pay	Receive		Fair	Maturity
		Amount	Rate	Rate		Value	(Years)
December 31, 2018
Expiration > 1 to ≤ 3 years	$	1,000,000	1.62%	2.63%	$	10,365	1.4
Expiration > 3 to ≤ 5 years		260,000	2.01%	2.68%		4,192	3.4
	$	1,260,000	1.70%	2.64%	$	14,557	1.8
December 31, 2017
Expiration > 1 to ≤ 3 years	$	650,000	1.09%	1.41%	$	11,828	2.1
Expiration > 3 to ≤ 5 years		360,000	2.05%	1.53%		1,702	4.3
	$	1,010,000	1.43%	1.45%	$	13,530	2.8

The table below presents information related to the Company’s interest rate swaption positions at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

($ in thousands)

Option

Underlying Swap

Weighted

Average

Weighted

Average

Adjustable

Average

Fair

Months to

Notional

Fixed

Rate

Term

Expiration

Cost

Value

Expiration

Amount

Rate

(LIBOR)

(Years)

December 31, 2018

≤ 1 year

Payer Swaptions

7,805

123

1.4

700,000

3.20%

3 Month

9.0

December 31, 2017

≤ 1 year

Payer Swaptions

2,367

3,405

8.0

200,000

2.16%

3 Month

6.0

The following table summarizes our contracts to purchase and sell TBA securities as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.

($ in thousands)
			Notional						Net
			Amount		Cost		Market		Carrying
			Long (Short)⁽¹⁾		Basis⁽²⁾		Value⁽³⁾		Value⁽⁴⁾
December 31, 2018
30-Year TBA securities:
	3.0%	$	(250,000)	$	(240,164)	$	(243,906)	$	(3,742)
Total		$	(250,000)	$	(240,164)	$	(243,906)	$	(3,742)
December 31, 2017
30-Year TBA securities:
	3.0%	$	(300,000)	$	(299,371)	$	(300,153)	$	(782)
	4.0%		(357,000)		(373,403)		(373,477)		(74)
	4.5%		356,556		380,371		379,414		(957)
Total		$	(300,444)	$	(292,403)	$	(294,216)	$	(1,813)

Gain (Loss) From Derivative Instruments, Net

The table below presents the effect of the Company’s derivative financial instruments on the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

(in thousands)
		2018		2017		2016
Eurodollar futures contracts (short positions)	$	7,170	$	1,257	$	(12,808)
T-Note futures contracts (short position)		5,507		(14,922)		(3,600)
Interest rate swaps		8,609		3,216		9,503
Receiver swaptions		105		-		36
Payer swaptions		(1,607)		1,038		-
Net TBA securities		4,527		(5,938)		(2,518)
Total	$	24,311	$	(15,349)	$	(9,387)

Credit Risk-Related Contingent Features

The use of derivatives creates exposure to credit risk relating to potential losses that could be recognized in the event that the counterparties to these instruments fail to perform their obligations under the contracts. We minimize this risk by limiting our counterparties for instruments which are not centrally cleared on a registered exchange to major financial institutions with acceptable credit ratings and monitoring positions with individual counterparties. In addition, we may be required to pledge assets as collateral for our derivatives, whose amounts vary over time based on the market value, notional amount and remaining term of the derivative contract. In the event of a default by a counterparty, we may not receive payments provided for under the terms of our derivative agreements, and may have difficulty obtaining our assets pledged as collateral for our derivatives. The cash and cash equivalents pledged as collateral for our derivative instruments are included in restricted cash on our consolidated balance sheets.

^{[1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]}

[1]	Market value represents the current market value of the TBA securities (or of the underlying Agency RMBS ) as of period-end
[2]	Market value represents the current market value of the TBA securities (or of the underlying Agency RMBS ) as of period-end
[3]	Net carrying value represents the difference between the market value and the cost basis of the TBA securities as of period-end and is reported in derivative assets (liabilities) , at fair valu e in our consolidated balance sheets
[4]	Notional amount represents the par value (or principal balance) of the underlying Agency RMBS
[5]	Open equity represents the cumulative gains (losses) recorded on open futures positions from inception
[6]	T -Note f utures c ontracts were valued at a price of $ 114.69 at December 31, 2018 and $12 4.05 at December 31, 2017 . The no tional contract values of the short positions were $ 189.2 million and $ 173.7 million at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , respectively