SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Basis of Accounting and Principles of Combination and Consolidation

The accompanying combined consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). In the opinion of management, the unaudited financial information for the interim periods presented in this report reflects all normal and recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The interim combined consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited combined consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014, which are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”), as certain disclosures would substantially duplicate those contained in the audited combined consolidated financial statements have not been included in this interim report. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of operating results for an entire fiscal year. The interim combined consolidated financial statements have been prepared, without audit, and do not necessarily include all information and footnotes necessary for a fair statement of our combined consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows in accordance with GAAP.

The combined consolidated financial statements include the Company’s accounts and those of its subsidiaries which are majority-owned and/or controlled by the Company and variable interest entities for which the Company has determined itself to be the primary beneficiary, if any. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. The combined consolidated financial statements of the Company are comprised of the consolidation of LCFH and its wholly-owned and majority owned subsidiaries, prior to the IPO Transactions, and the consolidated financial statements of Ladder Capital Corp, subsequent to the IPO Transactions.

Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810 — Consolidation (“ASC 810”), provides guidance on the identification of entities for which control is achieved through means other than voting rights (“variable interest entities” or “VIEs”) and the determination of which business enterprise, if any, should consolidate the VIEs. Generally, the consideration of whether an entity is a VIE applies when either: (1) the equity investors (if any) lack one or more of the essential characteristics of a controlling financial interest; (2) the equity investment at risk is insufficient to finance that entity’s activities without additional subordinated financial support; or (3) the equity investors have voting rights that are not proportionate to their economic interests and the activities of the entity involve or are conducted on behalf of an investor with a disproportionately small voting interest. The Company consolidates VIEs in which it is considered to be the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is defined by the entity having both of the following characteristics: (1) the power to direct the activities that, when taken together, most significantly impact the variable interest entity’s performance; and (2) the obligation to absorb losses and right to receive the returns from the VIE that would be significant to the VIE.

Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries are defined as “the portion of the equity (net assets) in the subsidiaries not attributable, directly or indirectly, to a parent.” Noncontrolling interests are presented as a separate component of capital in the combined consolidated balance sheets. In addition, the presentation of net income attributes earnings to shareholders/unitholders (controlling interest) and noncontrolling interests.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the combined consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the balance sheets and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Estimates and assumptions are reviewed periodically and the effects of resulting changes are reflected in the combined consolidated financial statements in the period the changes are deemed to be necessary. Significant estimates made in the accompanying combined consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to the following:


•	valuation of real estate securities;


•	allocation of purchase price for acquired real estate;


•	impairment, and useful lives, of real estate;


•	useful lives of intangible assets;


•	valuation of derivative instruments;


•	valuation of deferred tax asset;


•	amounts payable pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement;


•	determination of effective yield for recognition of interest income;


•	adequacy of provision for loan losses;


•	determination of other than temporary impairment of real estate securities and investments in unconsolidated joint ventures;


•	certain estimates and assumptions used in the accrual of incentive compensation and calculation of the fair value of equity compensation issued to employees;


•	determination of the effective tax rate for income tax provision; and


•	certain estimates and assumptions used in the allocation of revenue and expenses for our segment reporting.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all investments with original maturities of three months or less, at the time of acquisition, to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash accounts at several financial institutions, which are insured up to a maximum of $250,000 per account as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014. At September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 and at various times during the years, balances exceeded the insured limits.

Cash Collateral Held by Broker

The Company maintains accounts with brokers to facilitate financial derivative and repurchase agreement transactions in support of its loan and securities investments and risk management activities. Based on the value of the positions in these accounts and the associated margin requirements, the Company may be required to deposit additional cash into these broker accounts. The cash collateral held by broker is considered restricted cash.

Restricted Cash

As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, included in other assets on the Company’s combined consolidated balance sheets are $27.6 million and $24.4 million, respectively, of tenant security deposits, deposits related to real estate sales and acquisitions and required escrow balances on credit facilities, which are considered restricted cash.

Real Estate Securities

The Company designates its real estate securities investments on the date of acquisition of the investment. Real estate securities that the Company does not hold for the purpose of selling in the near-term, but may dispose of prior to maturity, are designated as available-for-sale and are carried at estimated fair value with the net unrealized gains or losses on all securities, except for Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) interest-only and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (“FHLMC”) interest-only securities (collectively, “Agency interest-only securities”), recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) in shareholders’ equity.

The Company’s Agency interest-only securities are considered to be hybrid financial instruments that contain embedded derivatives. As a result, the Company accounts for them as hybrid instruments in their entirety at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in earnings in the combined consolidated statements of income in accordance with ASC 815. The Company’s recognition of interest income from its Agency interest-only and all other securities, including effective interest from amortization of premiums, follows the Company’s Revenue Recognition policy, as disclosed within this Note for recognizing interest income on its securities. The interest income recognized from the Company’s Agency interest-only securities is recorded in interest income on the combined consolidated statements of income. The Company uses the specific identification method when determining the cost of securities sold and the amount reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income into earnings. The Company accounts for the changes in the fair value of the unfunded portion of its GNMA Construction securities, which are included in real estate securities, available-for-sale, on the combined consolidated balance sheet, as available for sale securities. Unrealized losses on securities that, in the judgment of management, are other than temporary are charged against earnings as a loss in the combined consolidated statements of income.

When the estimated fair value of an available-for-sale security is less than amortized cost, the Company will consider whether there is an other-than-temporary impairment in the value of the security. An impairment will be considered other-than-temporary based on consideration of several factors, including (i) if the Company intends to sell the security, (ii) if it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the security before recovering its cost, or (iii) the Company does not expect to recover the security’s cost basis (i.e., a credit loss). A credit loss will have occurred if the present value of cash flows expected to be collected from the debt security is less than the amortized cost basis. If the Company intends to sell an impaired debt security or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis less any current period credit loss, the impairment is other-than-temporary and will be recognized currently in earnings equal to the entire difference between fair value and amortized cost. If a credit loss exists, but the Company does not intend to, nor is it more likely than not that it will be required to sell before recovery, the impairment is other-than-temporary and will be separated into (i) the estimated amount relating to the credit loss, and (ii) the amount relating to all other factors. Only the estimated credit loss amount is recognized currently in earnings, with the remainder of the loss recognized in other comprehensive income. Estimating cash flows and determining whether there is other-than-temporary impairment require management to exercise judgment and make significant assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding estimated prepayments, loss assumptions, and assumptions regarding changes in interest rates. As a result, actual impairment losses, and the timing of income recognized on these securities, could differ from reported amounts.

The Company utilizes an internal model as its primary pricing source to develop its prices for its commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) and other commercial real estate securities guaranteed by a U.S. governmental agency or by a government sponsored entity (together, “U.S. Agency Securities”). Different judgments and assumptions could result in materially different estimates of fair value. To confirm its own valuations, the Company requests prices for each of its CMBS and U.S. Agency Securities investments from three different sources, including pricing services and brokers, although since broker quotes for the same or similar securities in which Ladder has invested are non-binding, the Company does not consider them to be a primary source for valuation. The Company may also develop a price for a security based on its direct observations of market activity and other observations. Typically, at least two prices per security are obtained.

Prior to using a third-party pricing service for valuation, the Company develops an understanding of the valuation methodologies used by such pricing services through discussions with their representatives and review of their valuation methodologies used for different types of securities. The Company understands that the pricing services develop estimates of fair value for CMBS and U.S. Agency Securities using various techniques, including discussion with their internal trading desks, proprietary models and matrix pricing approaches. The Company does not have access to, and is therefore not able to review in detail, the inputs used by the pricing services in developing their estimates of fair value. However, on at least a monthly basis as part of our closing process, the Company evaluates the fair value information provided by the pricing services by comparing this information for reasonableness against its direct observations of market activity for similar securities and anecdotal information obtained from market participants that, in its assessment, is relevant to the determination of fair value. This process may result in the Company “challenging” the estimate of fair value for a security if it is unable to reconcile the estimate provided by the pricing service with its assessment of fair value for the security. Accordingly, in following this approach, the Company’s objective is to ensure that the information used by pricing services in their determination of fair value of securities is reasonable and appropriate.

Since inception, the Company has not encountered significant variation in the values obtained from the various pricing sources. In the extremely limited occasions where the prices received were challenged, the challenge resulted in the prices provided by the pricing services being updated to reflect current market updates or cash flow assumptions.

Debt Issuance Costs

In April 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2015-03, Interest – Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs (“ASU 2015-03”), which requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. Beginning April 1, 2015, the Company elected to early adopt ASU 2015-03 and appropriately retrospectively applied the guidance to its senior unsecured notes, to all periods presented. Unamortized debt issuance costs of $7.6 million are included in senior unsecured notes as of September 30, 2015, and unamortized debt issuance costs of $9.4 million are included in senior unsecured notes as of December 31, 2014 (previously included in other assets on the combined consolidated balance sheets). This new guidance is framed around how to account for costs related to term debt and it does not address how to present fees paid to lenders or other costs to secure revolving lines of credit, which are, at the outset, not associated with an outstanding borrowing. In August 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-15, Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of-Credit Arrangements (“ASU 2015-15”), which amends ASC 835-30, Interest - Imputation of Interest. This update clarifies the presentation and subsequent measurement of debt issuance costs associated with lines of credit. These costs may be deferred and presented as an asset and subsequently amortized ratably over the term of the revolving debt arrangement. The Company considers its committed loan master repurchase facilities, borrowings under credit agreement and revolving credit facility to be revolving debt arrangements. Refer to Note 7, Debt Obligations and Note 8, Senior Unsecured Notes.

Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-16, Business Combinations: Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustment (“ASU 2015-16”). This update requires that an acquirer recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. ASU 2015-16 applies to fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. Entities must apply the new guidance prospectively to adjustments to provisional amounts that occur after the effective date of ASU 2015-16, with earlier adoption permitted for financial statements that have not yet been made available for issuance. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

As described above, in August 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-15. The amendments in this ASU are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company elected to early adopt this update in the quarter ended September 30, 2015. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

In June 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-10, Technical Corrections and Improvements (“ASU 2015-10”). The amendments in this update cover a wide range of topics in the codification and are generally categorized as follows: amendments related to differences between original guidance and the codification; guidance clarification and reference corrections; simplification, and minor improvements. The amendments are effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is permitted, but not required. As the objectives of this standard are to clarify the codification, correct unintended application of guidance, eliminate inconsistencies and to improve the codification’s presentation of guidance, the adoption of this standard is not expected to have a significant effect on current accounting practice or create a significant administrative cost on most entities. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

In May 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Pushdown Accounting - Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 115 (“ASU 2015-08”). The amendments in ASU 2015-08 amend various SEC paragraphs included in the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) to reflect the issuance of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 115 (“SAB 115”). SAB 115 rescinds portions of the interpretive guidance included in the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletins series and brings existing guidance into conformity with ASU 2014-17, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Pushdown Accounting, which provides an acquired entity with an option to apply pushdown accounting in its separate financial statements upon occurrence of an event in which an acquirer obtains control of the acquired entity. The Company has adopted the amendments in ASU 2015-08, effective May 8, 2015, as the amendments in the update are effective upon issuance. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

In April 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest – Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs (“ASU 2015-03”). The amended guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs is not affected by the amendments in this ASU. The amendments in this ASU are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption of this ASU is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. Entities must apply the new guidance on a retrospective basis, wherein the balance sheet of each individual period presented should be adjusted to reflect the period-specific effects of applying the new guidance. Upon transition, an entity is required to comply with the applicable disclosures for a change in an accounting principle. The Company elected to early adopt this update in the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02, Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis (“ASU 2015-02”). This ASU makes changes to the VIE model and voting interest ("VOE") model consolidation guidance. The main provisions of the ASU include the following: i) adding a requirement that limited partnerships and similar legal entities must provide partners with either substantive kick-out rights or substantive participating rights over the general partner to qualify as a VOE rather than a VIE; ii) eliminating the presumption that the general partner should consolidate a limited partnership; iii) eliminating certain conditions that need to be met when evaluating whether fees paid to a decision maker or service provider are considered a variable interest; iv) excluding certain fees paid to decision makers or service providers when evaluating which party is the primary beneficiary of a VIE; and v) revising how related parties are evaluated under the VIE guidance. Lastly, the ASU eliminates the indefinite deferral of FAS 167, which allowed reporting entities with interests in certain investment funds to follow previous guidance in FIN 46 (R). However, the ASU permanently exempts reporting entities from consolidating registered money market funds that operate in accordance with Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act. The ASU is effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Entities may apply this ASU either using a modified retrospective approach by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity as of the beginning period of adoption or retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. Early adoption is also permitted provided that the ASU is applied from the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

In August 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements — Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40): Disclosure of Uncertainties About an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern (“ASU 2014-15”). The guidance in ASU 2014-15 sets forth management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern as well as required disclosures. ASU 2014-15 indicates that, when preparing interim and annual financial statements, management should evaluate whether conditions or events, in the aggregate, raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year from the date the financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. This evaluation should include consideration of conditions and events that are either known or are reasonably knowable at the date the financial statements are issued or are available to be issued, and, if applicable, whether it is probable that management’s plans to address the substantial doubt will be implemented and, if so, whether it is probable that the plans will alleviate the substantial doubt. ASU 2014-15 is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods and annual periods thereafter. Early application is permitted. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2017 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial statements.

In August 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-14, Receivables-Trouble Debt Restructurings by Creditor (ASC Subtopic 310-40): Classification of Certain Government-Guaranteed Mortgage Loans Upon Foreclosure (“ASU 2014-14”). The guidance in ASU 2014-14 requires that a mortgage loan be derecognized and that a separate other receivable be recognized upon foreclosure if the following conditions are met: (1) the loan has a government guarantee that is not separable from the loan before foreclosure; (2) at the time of foreclosure, the creditor has the intent to convey the real estate property to the guarantor and make a claim on the guarantee, and the creditor has the ability to recover under that claim; and (3) at the time of foreclosure, any amount of the claim that is determined on the basis of the fair value of the real estate is fixed. Upon foreclosure, the separate other receivable should be measured based on the amount of the loan balance (principal and interest) expected to be recovered from the guarantor. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2014, and the interim periods within those fiscal years. An entity should adopt the amendments in ASU 2014-14 using either a prospective transition method or a modified retrospective transition method. Early adoption, including adoption in an interim period, is permitted if the entity already has adopted ASU 2014-4. The Company adopted this update in the quarter ended March 31, 2015, and the adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s combined consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In August 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-13, Consolidation (Topic 810): Measuring the Financial Assets and the Financial Liabilities of a Consolidated Collateralized Financing Entity (“ASU 2014-13”). For entities that consolidate a collateralized financing entity within the scope of this update, an option to elect to measure the financial assets and the financial liabilities of that collateralized financing entity using either the measurement alternative included in ASU 2014-13 or Topic 820 on fair value measurement is provided. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and the interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual period. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 and does not expect the adoption to have a material effect on the Company’s combined consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In June 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-12, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period, a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (“ASU 2014-12”). ASU 2014-12 requires that a performance target that affects vesting of share-based payment awards and that could be achieved after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. Compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the periods for which the requisite service has already been rendered. If the performance target becomes likely to be achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost should be recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period. The total amount of compensation cost recognized during and after the requisite service period should reflect the number of awards that are expected to vest and should be adjusted to reflect those awards that ultimately vest. The requisite service period ends when the employee can cease rendering service and still be eligible to vest in the award if the performance target is achieved. ASU 2014-12 is effective for all entities for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted. An entity may apply the amendments in ASU 2014-12 either (i) prospectively to all awards granted or modified after the effective date or (ii) retrospectively to all awards with performance targets that are outstanding as of the beginning of the earliest annual period presented in the financial statements and to all new or modified awards thereafter. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

In June 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-11, Repurchase-to-Maturity Transactions, Repurchase Financings and Disclosures (“ASU 2014-11”). The pronouncement changes the accounting for repurchase-to-maturity transactions and linked repurchase financings to secured borrowing accounting, which is consistent with the accounting for other repurchase agreements. The pronouncement also requires two new disclosures. The first disclosure requires an entity to disclose information on transfers accounted for as sales in transactions that are economically similar to repurchase agreements. The second disclosure provides increased transparency about the types of collateral pledged in repurchase agreements and similar transactions accounted for as secured borrowings. The pronouncement is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2014. Early adoption is not permitted. The Company adopted this update in the quarter ended March 31, 2015, and the adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s combined consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In May 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-9, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-9”). ASU 2014-9 is a comprehensive new revenue recognition model requiring a company to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to a customer at an amount reflecting the consideration it expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. In adopting ASU 2014-9, companies may use either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective approach. Additionally, this guidance requires improved disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. In August 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Deferral of the Effective Date (“ASU 2015-14”), which amends ASU 2014-09. As a result, the effective date for the amendments contained in ASU 2014-09 will be the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, with early adoption permitted in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017. The adoption will use one of two retrospective application methods. The Company anticipates adopting this update in the quarter ending March 31, 2018 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s combined consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for cash and cash equivalents, including the policy for determining which items are treated as cash equivalents. Other information that may be disclosed includes (1) the nature of any restrictions on the entity's use of its cash and cash equivalents, (2) whether the entity's cash and cash equivalents are insured or expose the entity to credit risk, (3) the classification of any negative balance accounts (overdrafts), and (4) the carrying basis of cash equivalents (for example, at cost) and whether the carrying amount of cash equivalents approximates fair value.

+ References + Details