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Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Consolidation, Variable Interest Entity Policy
VIE Assessment
We have interests in various entities that are considered VIEs. A VIE is an entity (1) that has total equity at risk that is not sufficient to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other entities, (2) where the group of equity holders does not have the power to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance, or the obligation to absorb the entity’s expected losses or the right to receive the entity’s expected residual returns, or both, or (3) where the voting rights of some investors are not proportional to their obligations to absorb the expected losses of the entity, their rights to receive the expected residual returns of the entity, or both, and substantially all of the entity’s activities either involve or are conducted on behalf of an investor that has disproportionately few voting rights.
We determine whether an entity is a VIE by performing a qualitative analysis, which requires certain subjective decisions including, but not limited to, the design of the entity, the variability that the entity was designed to create and pass along to its interest holders, the rights of the parties and the purpose of the arrangement.
The primary types of VIE entities with which we are involved are securitization trusts guaranteed by us via lender swap and portfolio securitization transactions, special-purpose vehicles (“SPVs”) associated with certain credit risk transfer programs, limited partnership investments in low-income housing tax credit (“LIHTC”) and other housing partnerships, as well as mortgage and asset-backed trusts that were not created by us. For more information on the primary types of VIE entities with which we are involved, see “Note 2, Consolidations and Transfers of Financial Assets.”
Primary Beneficiary Determination
If an entity is a VIE, we consider whether our variable interest in that entity causes us to be the primary beneficiary. We are deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE when we have both (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance, and (2) exposure to benefits and/or losses that could potentially be significant to the entity. The primary beneficiary of the VIE is required to consolidate and account for the assets, liabilities, and noncontrolling interests of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements. The assessment of which party has the power to direct the activities of the VIE may require significant management judgment when (1) more than one party has power or (2) more than one party is involved in the design of the VIE but no party has the power to direct the ongoing activities that could be significant.
We continually assess whether we are the primary beneficiary of the VIEs with which we are involved and therefore may consolidate or deconsolidate a VIE through the duration of our involvement. Examples of certain events that may change whether or not we consolidate the VIE include a change in the design of the entity or a change in our ownership in the entity.
Measurement of Consolidated Assets and Liabilities
When we are the transferor of assets into a VIE that we consolidate at the time of the transfer, we continue to recognize the assets and liabilities of the VIE at the amounts that they would have been recognized if we had not transferred them, and no gain or loss is recognized. For all other VIEs that we consolidate (that is, those for which we are not the transferor), we recognize the assets and liabilities of the VIE in our consolidated financial statements at fair value, and we recognize a gain or loss for the difference between (1) the fair value of the consideration paid, fair value of noncontrolling interests and the reported amount of any previously held interests, and (2) the net amount of the fair value of the assets and liabilities recognized upon consolidation. However, for the securitization trusts established under our lender swap program, no gain or loss is recognized if the trust is consolidated at formation as there is no difference in the respective fair value of (1) and (2) above. We record gains or losses that are associated with the consolidation of VIEs as a component of “Investment gains, net” in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.
If we cease to be deemed the primary beneficiary of a VIE, we deconsolidate the VIE. We use fair value to measure the initial cost basis for any retained interests that are recorded upon the deconsolidation of a VIE. Any difference between the fair value and the previous carrying amount of our investment in the VIE is recorded in “Investment gains, net” in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.
Purchase/Sale of Fannie Mae Securities
We actively purchase and sell guaranteed MBS that have been issued through lender swap and portfolio securitization transactions. The accounting for the purchase and sale of our guaranteed MBS issued by the trusts differs based on the characteristics of the securitization trusts and whether the trusts are consolidated.
Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities (“UMBS”)
Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities (“UMBS”) are common mortgage-backed securities issued by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to finance fixed-rate mortgage loans backed by one- to four-unit single-family properties. We and Freddie Mac began issuing UMBS in June 2019. We and Freddie Mac also began resecuritizing UMBS certificates into structured securities in June 2019. The structured securities backed by UMBS that we issue include Supers, which are single-class resecuritization transactions, Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit securities (“REMICs”) and interest-only and principal-only strip securities (“SMBS”), which are multi-class resecuritization transactions.
Since June 2019, we have resecuritized UMBS, Supers and other structured securities issued by Freddie Mac. The mortgage loans that serve as collateral for Freddie Mac-issued UMBS are not held in trusts that are consolidated by Fannie Mae. When we include Freddie Mac securities in our structured securities, we are subject to additional credit risk because we guarantee securities that were not previously guaranteed by Fannie Mae. However, Freddie Mac continues to guarantee the payment of principal and interest on the underlying Freddie Mac securities that we have resecuritized. We have concluded that this additional credit risk is negligible because of the funding commitment available to Freddie Mac through its senior preferred stock purchase agreement with Treasury. Prior to June 2019, the vast majority of underlying assets of our resecuritization trusts were limited to Fannie Mae securities that were collateralized by mortgage loans held in consolidated trusts.
Single-Class Securitization Trusts
We create single-class securitization trusts to issue single-class Fannie Mae MBS (including UMBS) that evidence an undivided interest in the mortgage loans held in the trust. Investors in single-class Fannie Mae MBS receive principal and interest payments in proportion to their percentage ownership of the MBS issuance. We guarantee to each single-class securitization trust that we will supplement amounts received by the securitization trust as required to permit timely payments of principal and interest on the related Fannie Mae MBS. This guaranty exposes us to credit losses on the loans underlying Fannie Mae MBS.
Single-class securitization trusts are used for lender swap and portfolio securitization transactions. A lender swap transaction occurs when a mortgage lender delivers a pool of single-family mortgage loans to us, which we immediately deposit into an MBS trust. The MBS are then issued to the lender in exchange for the mortgage loans. A portfolio securitization transaction occurs when we purchase mortgage loans from third-party sellers for cash and later deposit these loans into an MBS trust. The securities issued through a portfolio securitization are then sold to investors for cash. We consolidate single-class securitization trusts that are issued under these programs when our role as guarantor and master servicer provides us with the power to direct matters, such as the servicing of the mortgage loans, that impact the credit risk to which we are exposed. In contrast, we do not consolidate single-class securitization trusts when other organizations have the power to direct these activities (for example, when the loan collateral is subject to a Federal Housing Administration guaranty and related Servicing Guide).
When we purchase single-class Fannie Mae MBS issued from a consolidated trust, we account for the transaction as an extinguishment of the related debt in our consolidated financial statements. We record a gain or loss on the extinguishment of such debt to the extent that the purchase price of the MBS does not equal the carrying value of the related consolidated debt reported in our consolidated balance sheets (including unamortized premiums, discounts or other cost basis adjustments) at the time of purchase. When we sell single-class Fannie Mae MBS that were issued from a consolidated trust, we account for the transaction as the issuance of debt in our consolidated financial statements. We amortize the related premiums, discounts and other cost basis adjustments into income over the contractual life of the MBS.
If a single-class securitization trust is not consolidated, we account for the purchase and subsequent sale of such securities as the transfer of an investment security in accordance with the accounting guidance for transfers of financial assets.
Single-Class Resecuritization Trusts
Fannie Mae single-class resecuritization trusts are created by depositing MBS into a new securitization trust for the purpose of aggregating multiple mortgage-related securities into one combined security. Single-class resecuritization securities pass through directly to the holders of the securities all of the cash flows of the underlying MBS held in the trust. Since June 2019, these securities can be collateralized directly or indirectly by cash flows from underlying
securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or a combination of both. Resecuritization trusts backed directly or indirectly only by Fannie Mae MBS are non-commingled resecuritization trusts. Resecuritization trusts collateralized directly or indirectly by cash flows either in part or in whole from Freddie Mac MBS are commingled resecuritization trusts.
Securities issued by our non-commingled single-class resecuritization trusts are backed solely by Fannie Mae MBS, and the guaranty we provide on the trust does not subject us to additional credit risk because we have already provided a guarantee on the underlying securities. Further, the securities issued by our non-commingled single-class resecuritization trusts pass through all of the cash flows of the underlying Fannie Mae MBS directly to the holders of the securities. Accordingly, these securities are deemed to be substantially the same as the underlying Fannie Mae MBS collateral. Additionally, our involvement with these trusts does not provide us with any incremental rights or powers that would enable us to direct any activities of the trusts. We have concluded that we are not the primary beneficiary of and, as a result, we do not consolidate our non-commingled single-class resecuritization trusts. Therefore, we account for purchases and sales of securities issued by non-commingled single-class resecuritization trusts as extinguishments and issuances of the underlying MBS debt, respectively.
Securities issued by our commingled single-class resecuritization trusts are backed in whole or in part by Freddie Mac securities. As discussed in “Note 6, Financial Guarantees,” the guaranty we provide to the commingled single-class resecuritization trust subjects us to additional credit risk to the extent that we are providing a guaranty for the timely payment of principal and interest on the underlying Freddie Mac securities that we have not previously guaranteed. Accordingly, securities issued by our commingled resecuritization trusts are not deemed to be substantially the same as the underlying collateral. We do not have any incremental rights or powers related to commingled single-class resecuritization trusts that would enable us to direct any activities of the underlying trust. As a result, we have concluded that we are not the primary beneficiary of, and therefore do not consolidate, our commingled single-class resecuritization trusts unless we have the unilateral right to dissolve the trust. We have this right when we hold 100% of the beneficial interests issued by the resecuritization trust. Therefore, we account for purchases and sales of these securities as the transfer of an investment security.
Multi-Class Resecuritization Trusts
Multi-class resecuritization trusts are trusts we create to issue multi-class Fannie Mae structured securities, including REMICs and SMBS, in which the cash flows of the underlying mortgage assets are divided, creating several classes of securities, each of which represents a beneficial ownership interest in a separate portion of cash flows. We guarantee to each multi-class resecuritization trust that we will supplement amounts received by the trusts as required to permit timely guaranty payments on the related Fannie Mae structured securities. Since June 2019, these multi-class structured securities can be collateralized, directly or indirectly, by securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or a combination of both.
The guaranty we provide to our non-commingled multi-class resecuritization trusts does not subject us to additional credit risk, because the underlying assets are Fannie Mae-issued securities for which we have already provided a guaranty. However, for commingled multi-class structured securities, we are subject to additional credit risk to the extent we are providing a guaranty for the timely payment of principal and interest on the underlying Freddie Mac securities that we have not previously guaranteed. For both commingled and non-commingled multi-class resecuritization trusts, we may also be exposed to prepayment risk via our ownership of securities issued by these trusts. We do not have the ability via our involvement with a multi-class resecuritization trust to impact either the credit risk or prepayment risk to which we are exposed. Therefore, we have concluded that we do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest and do not consolidate multi-class resecuritization trusts unless we have the unilateral right to dissolve the trust as noted below.
Securities issued by multi-class resecuritization trusts do not directly pass through all of the cash flows of the underlying securities, and therefore the issued and underlying securities are not considered substantially the same. Accordingly, we account for purchases and sales of securities issued by the multi-class resecuritization trusts as purchases and sales of investment securities.
Since June 2019, we may include UMBS, Supers and other structured securities that are either issued or backed by securities issued by Freddie Mac in our resecuritization trusts.
As a result, we adopted a consolidation threshold for multi-class resecuritization trusts that is based on our ability to unilaterally dissolve the resecuritization trust. This ability exists only when we hold 100% of the outstanding beneficial interests issued by the resecuritization trust. This change in the consolidation threshold was applied prospectively upon the introduction of UMBS in the second quarter of 2019 and prior-period amounts were not recast. Prior to the introduction of UMBS, we consolidated multi-class resecuritization trusts when we held a substantial portion of the
outstanding beneficial interests issued by the trust. Our adoption of the updated consolidation threshold did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Consolidated VIEs
If an entity is a VIE, we consider whether our variable interest in that entity causes us to be the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of the VIE is required to consolidate and account for the assets, liabilities and noncontrolling interests of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements. An enterprise is deemed to be the primary beneficiary when the enterprise has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and exposure to benefits and/or losses could potentially be significant to the entity. In general, the investors in the obligations of consolidated VIEs have recourse only to the assets of those VIEs and do not have recourse to us, except where we provide a guaranty to the VIE.
We continually assess whether we are the primary beneficiary of the VIEs with which we are involved and therefore may consolidate or deconsolidate a VIE through the duration of our involvement.Unconsolidated VIEs We do not consolidate VIEs when we are not deemed to be the primary beneficiary.
Principles of Consolidation Policy
Principles of Consolidation
Our consolidated financial statements include our accounts as well as the accounts of the other entities in which we have a controlling financial interest. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. The typical condition for a controlling financial interest is ownership of a majority of the voting interests of an entity. A controlling financial interest may also exist in an entity such as a variable interest entity (“VIE”) through arrangements that do not involve voting interests.
We consolidate the substantial majority of our single-class MBS trusts; therefore, these portfolio securitization transactions do not qualify for sale treatment. The assets and liabilities of consolidated trusts created via portfolio securitization transactions that do not qualify as sales are reported in our consolidated balance sheets.