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Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 2 — Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting and in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP).

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of consolidated income and expenses during the reporting period.

Principles of Consolidation

The principles of consolidation require management to determine and reassess the requirement to consolidate VIEs each reporting period, and therefore, the determination may change based on new facts and circumstances pertaining to each VIE. This could result in a material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements in subsequent reporting periods.

The Company consolidates the assets, liabilities, and remainder interests of the Trusts as management determined that VCC is the primary beneficiary of these entities. The Company’s ongoing asset management responsibilities provide the Company with the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and the remainder interests provide the Company with the right to receive benefits and the obligation to absorb losses, limited to its investment in the remainder interest of the Trusts.

The consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, include only those assets, liabilities, and results of operations related to the business of the Company, its subsidiaries, and VIEs.

Business Combination

The Company accounts for its business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting. Assets acquired and the liabilities assumed as part of a business combination are recognized separately from goodwill at their acquisition date fair values. Goodwill is measured as the excess of consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. The Company, with the assistance of outside specialists as necessary, use estimates and assumptions to value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date as well as contingent consideration, where applicable. The Company may refine these estimates during the measurement period which may be up to one year from the acquisition date. As a result, during the measurement period, the Company records adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Reclassifications

Certain amounts previously reported have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the previously reported net income.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consisted of the required specified reserves by the 2020-2 and 2022-MC1 Trust agreements to pay the notes on each payment date if collections on mortgage loans are insufficient to make payments on the notes, funds in the 2023-RTL 1 Trust escrow account, and cash held by the Company for potential future advances due certain borrowers.

Loans Held for Investment and Loans Held for Sale

Except for loans originated in accordance with the guidelines of Ginnie Mae's program, which loans are originated with the intent to sell, originated loans, and purchased loans are classified as held-for-investment when management has the intent and ability to hold such loans for the foreseeable future or until maturity. Loans held for investment originated prior to October 1, 2022, are carried at amortized cost, which is the outstanding principal balance, adjusted for net deferred loan origination costs and fees and allowance for loan losses. Loans originated or acquired after September 30, 2022, are carried at fair value.

Interest income is accrued on the unpaid principal balance (UPB) at their respective stated interest rates. Generally, loans are placed on nonaccrual status when they become 90 days past due. Loans are considered past due when contractually required principal or interest payments have not been made on the due dates. When a loan is placed on nonaccrual status, the accrued and unpaid interest is reversed as a reduction of interest income and accrued interest receivable. Interest income is subsequently recognized only to the extent cash payments are received or when the loan has been placed back in accrual status. Loans are restored to accrual status when (1) the loan becomes current and none of its principal and interest is due and unpaid, and the Company expects repayment of the remaining contractual principal and interest, or (2) if the loan has been formally restructured in a manner that reasonably assures repayment and performance according to its modified terms. Under these terms, the Company requires that the borrower continues to make the full restructured principal and interest payments for six consecutive months before restoring the loan to accrual status.

The deferred loans under the Company’s forbearance program are considered current at the time of deferral, and the Company continues to accrue interest on these loans. Deferred loans that subsequently went 90 days past due after the deferral date were placed on nonaccrual status with any accrued interest income reversed through earnings. The Company evaluates the COVID-19 forbearance-granted loans on an individual basis to determine if a reserve should be established on the collectability of the unamortized cost and accrued interest, and whether any loans should be placed on nonaccrual status.

For originated loans prior to October 1, 2022, carried at amortized cost, net deferred loan origination costs are amortized to interest income using the level yield method. Loan origination fees and costs on loans originated or acquired after September 30, 2022, are expensed as incurred.

Loans are classified as held for sale when management has the intent to sell them. Loans held for sale originated prior to October 1, 2022, are carried at lower of cost or estimated fair value. Loans held for sale originated or acquired effective October 1, 2022, are carried at estimated fair value. The Century loans are considered as held for sale until they meet the sale criteria describe in the following paragraphs, which is generally when they are delivered to GNMA in exchange for GNMA securities. Century will continue to service the loans for Ginnie Mae.

On occasion, as part of the Company’s management strategy of the loans held in its portfolio, the Company will transfer loans from held for investment to held for sale. Upon transfer of any loans that were held at amortized cost, any associated allowance for loan loss is charged off and the carrying value of the loan is adjusted to the lower of cost or estimated fair value. The net deferred fees and costs associated with loans held for sale are deferred (not accreted or amortized to interest income) until the related loans are sold.

The Company recognizes transfers of loans as sales when it surrenders control over the loans. Control over transferred loans is deemed to be surrendered when (1) the loans have been isolated from the Company, (2) the transferee has the right (free of conditions that constrain it from taking advantage of that right) to pledge or exchange the transferred loans, and (3) the Company does not maintain effective control over the transferred loans through either (a) an agreement that entitles and obligates the Company to repurchase or redeem them before their maturity or (b) the ability to unilaterally cause the holder to return the specific loans. Gains or losses on the sale of these loans are included in “Gain on disposition of loans” in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Interest income on loans held for sale is recognized over the life of the loans using their contractual interest rates. Income recognition is suspended, and the unpaid interest receivable is reversed against interest income when loans become 90 days delinquent, or when, in management’s opinion, a full recovery of interest and principal becomes doubtful. Income recognition is resumed when the loan becomes contractually current.

Mortgage Servicing Rights

The Company retains the servicing rights of the Ginnie Mae insured loans that are sold in the secondary market by Century. Servicing rights are initially recorded at fair value with the income statement effect recorded in gains on sale of loans.

Under the fair value measurement method, the Company measures servicing rights at fair value at each reporting date and reports changes in fair value of servicing assets in earnings in the period in which the changes occur and are included as a component of non-interest income or expense on the Consolidated Statements of Income. The fair value of servicing rights is subject to significant fluctuations as a result of changes in estimated and actual prepayment speeds and default rates and losses. Loans serviced for others are not included in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Servicing fee income is recorded for fees earned for servicing loans. The fees are based on a contractual percentage of the outstanding principal or a fixed amount per loan and are recorded as income when earned.

Allowance for Loan Losses

Effective January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13 Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments replacing the incurred loss accounting approach with the current expected credit loss approach for all financial assets measured at amortized cost, which as of the adoption date consisted entirely of its held for investment loan portfolio. Under the current expected credit loss ("CECL") methodology, the allowance for credit losses is measured using two components. A component that measures expected credit losses on a collective (pool) basis when similar risk characteristics exist and a component that measures expected credit losses on an individual loan basis. For the collective pool component, the Company identified the following portfolio segments based on risk characteristics of the loans in its loan portfolio (pool):

Residential 1– 4 Unit – Purchase (loans to purchase 1– 4 unit residential rental properties);
Residential 1– 4 Unit – Refinance (refinance loans on 1– 4 unit residential rental properties);
Commercial – Purchase (loans to purchase traditional commercial properties);
Commercial – Refinance (refinance loans on traditional commercial properties);
Short Term 1– 4 Unit – Purchase (short-term loans to purchase 1– 4 unit residential rental properties); and
Short Term 1– 4 Unit – Refinance (short-term refinance loans on 1– 4 unit residential rental properties).

The Company determines the collectability of its loans in the collective pools by evaluating certain risk characteristics. The segmentation of its loan portfolio was determined based on analyses of its loan portfolio performance over the past nine years. Based on analyses of the loan portfolio’s historical performance, the Company concluded that loan purpose and product types are the most significant risk factors in determining its expectation of future loan losses. Loan purpose considers whether a borrower is acquiring the property or refinancing an existing property. The historical experience shows that refinance loans have higher loss rates than loans for property acquisitions. Product type includes residential 1-4 unit property and traditional commercial property. The historical experience shows that traditional commercial property loans have higher loss rates than residential 1-4 unit property. Short term loans have a maturity of one to 2 years from origination. Long term loans have a maturity of up to 30 years from origination.

The Company estimates the allowance for loan losses using relevant available information, from internal and external sources, relating to historical performance, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable macroeconomic forecasts. Historical credit loss experience provides the basis for the estimation of expected credit losses. Adjustments to historical loss information are considered for differences in current loan-specific risk characteristics such as differences in underwriting standards, portfolio mix, delinquency levels, or term, as well as for changes in environmental conditions, such as unemployment rates, property values and changes in the competitive or regulatory environment.

The Company uses an open pool loss rate methodology to model expected credit losses. To determine the loss rates for the open pool method, the Company starts with its historical database of losses, segmenting the loans by loan purpose, product type and repayment period. A third-party model applying the open pool method is used to estimate annual average loss rates by dividing the respective pool's quarterly historical losses by the pool's respective prior quarter’s ending unamortized loan cost balance and deriving an annual average loss rate from the historical quarterly loss rates. The model then adjusts the annual average loss rates based upon macroeconomic forecasts over a reasonable and supportable period, followed by a straight-line reversion to the historical loss rates. The adjusted annual average loss rates are applied to the forecasted pool balance within each segment. The forecasted balances in the loan pool segments are calculated based on a principal amortization using contractual maturity, factoring in further principal reductions from estimated prepayments. Estimated prepayments, or Constant Prepayment Rates ("CPRs") are developed from multiple loan characteristic considerations, such as property types, FICO scores, loan purpose, and prepayment penalty terms, which is the most significant driver of prepayment activity. The prepayment penalty terms differ between the short-term and long-term loans, and the Company has developed a CPR curve for its short-term loans (2-year or less) and one for its long-term loans (30-year). Data from 2012-2023 is used to develop prepayment rates for the Company’s long-term loans. Because of the prepayment penalty structure in the Company’s long-term loans, prepayments during the active penalty term are historically low and begin to ramp up after the prepayment penalty term. The active prepayment penalty term is considered for existing and new loans over the reasonable and supportable forecast period in determining estimated prepayments. The Company back-tests the CPR curves on a quarterly basis and adjusts the CPR curves as appropriate. The reasonable and supportable period is meant to represent the period in which the Company believes the forecasted macroeconomic variables can be reasonably estimated. Significant variables or assumptions incorporated in the macroeconomic forecasts include U.S. unemployment, treasury yields, U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP), and U.S. real estate housing prices. The Company considers multiple scenarios from different macroeconomic forecasts and uses different forecast and revision periods for estimating lifetime expected credit losses.

For the December 31, 2021, CECL estimate, the Company considered a COVID-19 severe stress scenario with a five-quarter reasonable and supportable forecast period followed by a four-quarter straight-line reversion period. The various scenarios, as well as the forecast period and reversion to historical loss is subject to change as conditions in the market change and the Company’s ability to forecast economic events evolves.

For the December 31, 2022, CECL estimate, the Company considered a severe stress scenario with an eight-quarter reasonable and supportable forecast period followed by a two-quarter straight-line reversion period. The various scenarios, as well as the forecast period and reversion to historical loss is subject to change as conditions in the market change and the Company’s ability to forecast economic events evolves.

For the December 31, 2023, CECL estimate, the Company considered a severe stress scenario with an eight-quarter reasonable and supportable forecast period followed by a two-quarter straight-line reversion period. Management concluded that applying the severe stress scenario was appropriate given the continued inflation in the United States, the wars between Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Hamas, continued disruption in the supply chain, and concerns of a recession.

The Company has determined that once a loan becomes nonperforming (90 or more days past due), it no longer shares the same risk characteristics of the other loans within its segment of homogeneous loans (pool). The Company pulls these loans out of the segments and evaluates the loans individually using the practical expedient to determine the credit exposure. Nonperforming loans are considered collateral dependent by the Company. Using the practical expedient, the fair value of the underlying collateral, less estimated selling costs, is compared to the carrying value of the loan in the determination of a credit loss. The allowance for loan losses for individually assessed or evaluated loans is the difference between the fair value of the collateral underlying the loans at the reporting date, adjusted for estimated selling costs, and the amortized cost basis.

The allowance for loan losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the loans’ amortized cost basis to present the net amount expected to be collected on the loans. Loans are charged off against the allowance when the Company believes the uncollectibility of a loan balance is confirmed. Expected recoveries do not exceed the aggregate of amounts previously charged-off and expected to be charged-off.

The allowance for loan losses is maintained at a level deemed adequate by management to provide for expected losses in the portfolio at the balance sheet date. While management uses available information to estimate its required allowance for loan losses, future additions to the allowance for credit losses may be necessary based on changes in estimates resulting from economic and other conditions.

The Company has made the accounting policy election not to measure an allowance for credit losses for accrued interest receivables. When a loan is placed on nonaccrual status, the accrued and unpaid interest is reversed as a reduction of interest income and accrued interest receivable. Accrued interest receivable is excluded from the amortized cost of loans and it is presented as accrued interest receivable in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Effective October 1, 2022, the Company elected to apply FVO accounting to its newly originated loans. Loans carried at fair value do not require a separate allowance for loan loss since any loan impairment will be reflected in the fair value of the loan. All loans originated or acquired prior to October 1, 2022, are carried at amortized cost and are subject to a CECL reserve.

Troubled Debt Restructurings

Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures: ASU 2022-02 “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures” eliminates the Troubled Debt Restructurings (“TDR”) accounting model for creditors that have already adopted ASC 326. In lieu of the TDR accounting model, loan refinancing and restructuring guidance in ASC Subtopic 310-20 “Investments-Debt Securities” will apply to all loan modifications, including those made for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty. This standard also enhances disclosure requirements related to certain loan modifications. Additionally, this standard introduces new requirements to disclose gross write-off information in the vintage disclosures of financing receivables by credit quality indicator and class of financing receivable by year of origination. The Company adopted the standard on January 1, 2023.

Accrued Interest and Other Receivables

Accrued interest and other receivables represent accrued and uncollected interest on loans in accrual status; principal and interest payments received, but unremitted by the servicer; and receivables from borrowers for escrow and other advances, net of an allowance for uncollectible borrower advances.

Real Estate Owned, Net (REO)

Properties acquired through foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or from third parties that meet all of the following criteria are classified as real estate owned: (i) management has the intent to sell the property; (ii) the property is available for immediate sale in its present condition, or management intends on making necessary repairs to render the property saleable, subject only to terms that are usual and customary; and (iii) it is unlikely that any significant changes to the plan will be made or that the plan will be withdrawn.

Real estate owned is initially recorded at the property’s estimated fair value, based on appraisals or broker price opinions obtained, less estimated costs to sell, at the acquisition date, establishing a new cost basis. If the recorded loan balance at the time of transfer exceeds the estimated fair value of the property less estimated costs to sell, the charge is recorded to the allowance for loan losses. If the estimated fair value of the property less estimated costs to sell exceeds the recorded loan balance at the time of transfer, the write-up is first recorded as a recapture to the allowance for loan losses to the extent of any previous charge and then to gain on the REO. Any subsequent write-downs in the fair value of the REO after the transfer date are charged to real estate owned, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income and recognized through a valuation allowance. Subsequent increases in the fair value of the REO less selling costs reduce the valuation allowance, but not below zero, and are credited to real estate owned, net.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment is recorded at cost, less accumulated depreciation, computed principally by the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the specific assets, which range from three to seven years. Software is amortized over the estimated useful lives of the specific assets, which range from three to ten years using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lives of the respective leases or the service lives of the improvements, whichever is shorter.

Goodwill

Goodwill arises from business combinations and is generally determined as the excess of the fair value of the consideration transferred over the fair value of the net assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date less any noncontrolling interest. Goodwill acquired in a purchase business combination and determined to have an indefinite useful life is not amortized but tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if events and circumstances exist that indicate that a goodwill impairment test should be performed.

Off Balance Sheet Credit Exposure

The Company has no off-balance-sheet assets or liabilities with credit exposure.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Under this method a deferred tax asset or liability is measured based on the enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and tax bases of existing assets and liabilities are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

Valuation allowances are established to reduce the net carrying amount of deferred tax assets ("DTA") if it is determined to be more likely than not, that all or some portion of the potential deferred tax asset will not be realized.

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the DTA will or will not be realized. The Company's ultimate realization of the DTA is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the nature and amount of historical and projected future taxable income, the scheduled reversal of deferred tax assets and liabilities, and available tax planning strategies in making this assessment. The amount of deferred taxes recognized could be impacted by changes to any of these variables.

The Company determines whether its tax positions are more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by the applicable taxing authorities, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits of the positions in question. Income tax positions that meet the more likely than not recognition threshold are measured to determine the amount of benefit to recognize. An income tax position is measured at the largest amount of benefit that management believes has a greater than 50% likelihood of realization upon settlement. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. The Company records interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.

Stock-Based Compensation

Compensation expense for stock options, and restricted stock awards is based on the fair value of the award at the date of grant. The fair value of stock options and options under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) is estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock awards is determined based on the Company’s market price on the date of grant. Under the Company’s ESPP, employees may purchase shares of common stock at a price equal to 85% of the lesser of the fair market value of the stock on the first or the last trading day of each offering period. The Company records compensation expenses related to the discount given to participating employees. Compensation expense for performance stock units is measured using the fair value at the date of grant and recorded over each vesting period and may be adjusted over the vesting period based on interim estimates of performance against the pre-set objectives. Compensation expense for all stock-based awards is recognized in the consolidated financial statements on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally defined as the vesting period. The Company recognizes forfeitures as they occur, and the income tax effects of awards are recognized in the consolidated statements of income when awards vest or are settled.

Earnings per Share

Earnings per share are calculated utilizing the two-class method. Basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing the sum of distributed earnings to common shareholders and undistributed earnings allocated to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share are calculated by dividing the sum of distributed earnings to common shareholders and undistributed earnings allocated to common shareholders by the weighted average number of shares adjusted for the dilutive effect of stock-based awards.

Treasury shares

The Company separately presents treasury shares, which represent shares surrendered to the Company equal in value to the statutory payroll tax withholding obligations arising from the vesting of employee restricted stock awards. Treasury shares are carried at cost.

Fair Value Option Accounting

The Company has elected to apply fair value option ("FVO") accounting to originated mortgage loans on a go-forward basis beginning October 1, 2022. The fair value option loans are presented on a separate line item in the consolidated balance sheet. Interest income on FVO loans is recorded on an accrual basis in the consolidated statements of income under the heading interest income. The Company will not record a CECL loan loss reserve on fair value option loans.

The Company has elected to apply FVO accounting to securitized debt issued effective January 1, 2023, when the underlying collateral is also carried at fair value. The FVO securitized debt is presented on a separate line item in the consolidated balance sheet. The Company reflects interest expense on the fair value option securitized debt as interest expense - portfolio related in the consolidated statements of income and presents the other fair value changes of the FVO securitized debt separately in the consolidated financial statements.

Derivative Instruments and Hedge Accounting

The Company issues fixed rate debt at regular intervals during the year through the securitization of its fixed rate mortgage assets. The Company is subject to interest rate risk on its forecasted debt issuances as these fixed rate debt issuances are priced at then-current market rates. The Company’s risk management objective is to hedge the risk of variability in its interest payment cash flows attributable to changes in the benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") between the time the fixed rate mortgages are originated and the fixed rate debt is issued. To accomplish this hedging strategy, the Company may from time to time enter into derivative instruments such as forward starting payer interest rate swaps or interest rate payer swaptions designated as cash flow hedges that are designed to be highly correlated to the underlying terms of the forecasted debt instruments. To qualify for hedge accounting, the Company formally documents its hedging relationships at inception, including the identification of the hedging instruments and the hedged items, as well as its risk management objectives and strategies for undertaking the hedge transaction at the time the derivative contract is executed. The Company also formally assesses effectiveness both at the hedge's inception and on an ongoing basis.

The Company's policy is to present all derivative balances on a gross basis, without regard to counterparty master netting agreements or similar arrangements. The fair value of the derivative instruments is recorded as a separate line item on the consolidated balance sheets as an asset or liability with the related gains or losses reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI"). Beginning in the period in which the forecasted debt issuance occurs and the related derivative instruments are terminated, the gains or losses accumulated in AOCI are then reclassified into interest expense as a yield adjustment over the term of the related debt. If the Company determines it is not probable that the forecasted transaction will occur, gains and losses are reclassified immediately to earnings. The related cash flows are recognized on the cash flows from operating activities section on the consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company uses hedge accounting based on the exposure being hedged as cash flow hedges in operations.

Other Comprehensive Income

Other comprehensive income ("OCI") is reported in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. OCI is comprised of net income and the effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives designated and that qualify as cash flow hedges, net of tax, less amounts reclassified into earnings.

Accumulated other comprehensive income represents the cumulative balance of OCI, net of tax, as of the end of the reporting period and relates to unrealized gains or losses on cash flow hedges, net of tax.