3. SPECIAL PURPOSE ENTITIES, INCLUDING VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

Ambac, with its subsidiaries, has engaged in transactions with special purpose entities, including VIEs, in various capacities.


•	Ambac most commonly provides financial guarantees, including credit derivative contracts, for various debt obligations issued by special purpose entities, including VIEs ("FG VIEs").


•	Ambac sponsors special purpose entities that issued notes to investors for various purposes.


•	Ambac monetized its ownership of the junior surplus note issued to it by the Segregated Account by depositing the junior surplus note into a newly formed VIE trust in exchange for cash and an owner trust certificate, which represents Ambac's right to residual cash flows from the junior surplus note.


•	Ambac is an investor in collateralized loan obligations, mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities issued by VIEs and its ownership interest is generally insignificant to the VIE and/or Ambac does not have rights that direct the activities that are most significant to such VIE.

FG VIEs:

Ambac’s subsidiaries provide financial guarantees in respect of assets held or debt obligations of special purpose entities, including VIEs. Ambac’s primary variable interest exists through this financial guarantee insurance or credit derivative contract. The transaction structures provide certain financial protection to Ambac. Generally, upon deterioration in the performance of a transaction or upon an event of default as specified in the transaction legal documents, Ambac will obtain certain loss remediation rights. These rights may enable Ambac to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance.

We determined that Ambac’s subsidiaries generally have the obligation to absorb a FG VIE's expected losses given that they have issued financial guarantees supporting certain liabilities (and in some cases certain assets). As further described below, we consolidated certain FG VIEs because: (i) we determined, for certain transactions that experienced the aforementioned performance deterioration, that Ambac’s subsidiaries had the power, through voting rights or similar rights, to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance because certain triggers had been breached in these transactions resulting in Ambac's subsidiaries' ability to exercise certain loss remediation activities or (ii) due to the passive nature of the VIEs’ activities, Ambac’s subsidiaries’ contingent loss remediation rights upon a breach of certain triggers in the future is considered to be the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIEs’ economic performance. With respect to existing VIEs involving Ambac financial guarantees, Ambac is generally required to consolidate a VIE in the period that applicable triggers result in Ambac having control over the VIE’s most significant economic activities. FG VIEs which are consolidated include recourse liabilities and, in some cases, may include non-recourse liabilities. FG VIEs' liabilities that are insured by the Company are with recourse, because the Company guarantees the payment of principal and interest to the extent there is a shortfall in the FG VIEs' assets. FG VIEs' liabilities that are not insured by the Company are without recourse, because the payment of principal and interest of these liabilities is wholly dependent on the performance of the FG VIEs' assets. The Company’s exposure to consolidated FG VIEs is limited to the financial guarantees issued for recourse liabilities and any additional variable interests held by Ambac.

In connection with the exit from rehabilitation of the Segregated Account, as further described in Note 1. Background and Business Description and in Note 1. Background and Business Description in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, Ambac evaluated the consolidation of certain VIEs. Under the Stipulation and Order, the OCI retained the authority requiring Ambac Assurance to obtain their approval with respect to the exercise of certain control rights in connection with certain policies that had previously been allocated to the Segregated Account. Accordingly, Ambac was not required to consolidate any additional VIEs as a result of the Segregated Account's exit from rehabilitation. A VIE is deconsolidated in the period that Ambac no longer has such control, which could occur in connection with the execution of remediation activities on the transaction or amortization of insured exposure, either of which may reduce the degree of Ambac’s control over a VIE. Assets and liabilities of FG VIEs that are consolidated are reported within Variable interest entity assets or Variable interest entity liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The net results from such FG VIEs are reported within Income (loss) on variable interest entities in the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Upon initial consolidation of a FG VIE, we recognize a gain or loss in earnings for the difference between: (i) the fair value of the consideration paid, the fair value of any non-controlling interests and the reported amount of any previously held interests and (ii) the net amount, as measured on a fair value basis, of the assets and liabilities consolidated. Upon deconsolidation of a FG VIE, we recognize a gain or loss for the difference between: (i) the fair value of any consideration received, the fair value of any retained non-controlling investment in the VIE and the carrying amount of any non-controlling interest in the VIE and (ii) the carrying amount of the VIE’s assets and liabilities. Gains or losses from consolidation and deconsolidation that are reported in earnings are reported within Income (loss) on variable interest entities on the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss).

The impact of consolidating such FG VIEs on Ambac’s balance sheet is the elimination of transactions between the consolidated FG VIEs and Ambac’s operating subsidiaries and the inclusion of the FG VIE’s third party assets and liabilities. For a financial guarantee insurance policy issued to a consolidated VIE, Ambac does not reflect the financial guarantee insurance policy in accordance with the related insurance accounting rules under the Financial Services – Insurance Topic of the ASC. Consequently, upon consolidation, Ambac eliminates the insurance assets and liabilities associated with the policy from the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Such insurance assets and liabilities may include premium receivables, reinsurance recoverable, deferred ceded premium, subrogation recoverable, unearned premiums, loss and loss expense reserves, ceded premiums payable and insurance intangible assets. For investment securities owned by Ambac that are debt instruments issued by the VIE, the investment securities balance is eliminated upon consolidation.

As of March 31, 2018 consolidated FG VIE assets and liabilities relating to 11 consolidated entities were $14,565,123 and $14,428,632, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, consolidated FG VIE assets and liabilities relating to 11 consolidated entities were $14,500,507 and $14,366,434, respectively. As of both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, eight and three consolidated FG VIEs related to transactions insured by Ambac UK and Ambac Assurance, respectively. As of March 31, 2018, FG VIE assets and liabilities of $14,247,950 and $14,111,885 and as of December 31, 2017, FG VIE assets and liabilities of $14,160,152 and $14,026,704 related to transactions guaranteed by Ambac UK. The remaining balance of consolidated FG VIE assets and liabilities are related to transactions guaranteed by Ambac Assurance. Ambac is not primarily liable for, and generally does not guarantee all of the debt obligations issued by the VIEs. Ambac would only be required to make payments on the VIE debt obligations in the event that the issuer of such debt obligations defaults on any principal or interest due and such obligation is guaranteed by Ambac. Additionally, Ambac’s general creditors, other than those specific policy holders which own the VIE debt obligations, do not have rights with regard to the assets of the VIEs. Ambac evaluates the net income effects and earnings per share effects to determine attributions between Ambac and non-controlling interests as a result of consolidating a VIE. Ambac has determined that the net income and earnings per share effect of most consolidated FG VIEs are attributable to Ambac’s interests through financial guarantee premium and loss payments with the VIE.

Below is a schedule detailing the change in fair value of the various financial instruments within the consolidated FG VIEs, along with gains (losses) from consolidating and deconsolidating FG VIEs that together comprise Income (loss) on variable interest entities for the affected periods:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2018			2017
Income (loss) on changes related to:
Net change in fair value of VIE assets and liabilities	$	1,918		$	3,701
Less: Credit risk changes of fair value liabilities	(1,344		)	—
Consolidation / Deconsolidation	—			—
Income (loss) on Variable Interest Entities	$	574		$	3,701

Effective January 1, 2018, Ambac adopted ASU 2016-01 related to the recognition and measurement of financial liabilities where the fair value option has been elected. As further described in Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies, this guidance requires the portion of the total change in fair value caused by changes in the instrument-specific credit risk to be presented separately in OCI; previously these amounts were recognized in net income. Ambac has elected the fair value option for all consolidated FG VIE liabilities and as such, $1,344 of changes in instrument-specific credit risk for such liabilities was recorded in OCI for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

Ambac consolidated zero and deconsolidated zero VIEs for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

The table below provides the fair value of fixed income securities, by asset-type, held by consolidated VIEs as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:



	March 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
Investments:
Corporate obligations	$	2,955,763	$	2,914,145
Total variable interest entity assets: fixed income securities	$	2,955,763	$	2,914,145

The following table provides supplemental information about the loans held as assets and long-term debt associated with the VIEs for which the fair value option has been elected as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:



	Estimated Fair Value		Unpaid Principal Balance
March 31, 2018:
Loans	$	11,558,331	$	8,413,664
Long-term debt	12,270,124		9,679,441
December 31, 2017:
Loans	$	11,529,384	$	8,168,651
Long-term debt	12,160,544		9,387,884

Ambac Sponsored VIEs:

A subsidiary of Ambac transferred financial assets to a special purpose entity. The business purpose of this entity was to provide certain financial guarantee clients with funding for their debt obligations. This special purpose entity was established as a separate legal entity, demonstrably distinct from Ambac and that Ambac, its affiliates or its agents could not unilaterally dissolve. The permitted activities of this entity are contractually limited to purchasing assets from Ambac, issuing medium-term notes (“MTNs”) to fund such purchases, executing derivative hedges and obtaining financial guarantee policies with respect to indebtedness incurred. Ambac does not consolidate this entity because Ambac Assurance’s policies issued to this entity were previously allocated to the Segregated Account and, as discussed above, the exercise of related control rights in such policies remain subject to OCI approval under the Stipulation and Order. Ambac elected to account for its equity interest in this entity at fair value under the fair value option in accordance with the Financial Instruments Topic of the ASC. We believe that the fair value of the investments in this entity provides for greater transparency for recording profit or loss as compared to the equity method under the Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures Topic of the ASC. Refer to Note 7. Fair Value Measurements for further information on the valuation technique and inputs used to measure the fair value of Ambac’s equity interest in this entity. At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 the fair value of this entity was $5,621 and $5,979, respectively, and is reported within Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

•

Total principal amount of debt outstanding was $436,080 and $420,600 at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. In each case, Ambac sold assets to this entity. The assets are composed of utility obligations with a weighted average rating of BBB+ at March 31, 2018 and weighted average life of 2.9 years. The purchase by this entity of financial assets was financed through the issuance of MTNs, which are cross-collateralized by the purchased assets. The MTNs have the same expected weighted average life as the purchased assets. Derivative contracts (interest rate swaps) are used within the entity for economic hedging purposes only. Derivative positions were established at the time MTNs were issued to purchase financial assets. As of March 31, 2018 Ambac Assurance had financial guarantee insurance policies issued for all assets, MTNs and derivative contracts owned and outstanding by the entity.

•

Insurance premiums paid to Ambac Assurance by this entity are earned in a manner consistent with other insurance policies, over the risk period. Additionally, any losses incurred on such insurance policies are included in Ambac’s Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss). Under the terms of an Administrative Agency Agreement, Ambac provides certain administrative duties, primarily collecting amounts due on the obligations and making interest payments on the MTNs.

In July 2015, Ambac Assurance entered into a secured borrowing transaction whereby it sold 17 Ambac insured residential mortgage-backed securities (the "Securities") and all rights associated therewith as of May 31, 2015, to a Delaware statutory trust (the "Trust") in exchange for an equity certificate in the Trust, all financial guarantee claim payments associated with the Securities and cash of $146,000 (prior to expenses associated with the transaction). Although the Securities were legally sold to the Trust, the Securities remain in Invested assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Securities had par and fair value of $285,437 and $256,553 as of March 31, 2018, respectively. Refer to Note 8. Investments for further discussion of the restrictions on the invested assets. At the same time, a second Delaware statutory trust (the "Issuer"), issued $146,000 of debt securities and used the proceeds, together with an equity certificate of the Issuer, to purchase from the Trust a certificate secured by and entitling the Issuer to all principal and interest payments (other than financial guarantee claim payments) on the Securities. Interest on the debt securities is payable monthly at an annual rate of one month LIBOR + 2.8%. Both the Trust and the Issuer are consolidated VIEs because Ambac Assurance was involved in their design and holds a significant amount of the beneficial interests issued by the VIEs or guaranteed the assets held by the VIEs. VIE debt outstanding to third parties under this secured borrowing transaction had a carrying value of $65,196 and $73,993 as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and is reported in Long-Term Debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Variable Interests in Non-Consolidated VIEs

On August 28, 2014, Ambac monetized its ownership of the junior surplus note issued to it by the Segregated Account by depositing the junior surplus note into a newly formed VIE trust in exchange for cash and an owner trust certificate, which represents Ambac's right to residual cash flows from the junior surplus note. Ambac does not consolidate the VIE. Ambac reports this interest in the VIE as an equity investment within Other investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets with associated results from operations included within Net investment income: Other investments on the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss). The equity investment had a carrying value of $36,209 and $34,941 as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

On February 12, 2018, Ambac formed a special purpose entity, Ambac LSNI, to issue Secured Notes in connection with the Rehabilitation Exit Transactions. Prior to the Rehabilitation Exit Transactions, Ambac and Ambac Assurance owned securities that were insured by Ambac Assurance and allocated to the Segregated Account. As a result of the Rehabilitation Exit Transactions, Ambac Assurance and Ambac received $643,583 and $124,881, respectively, of par amount of secured notes issued by Ambac LSNI. Ambac does not consolidate the VIE and reports its holdings of Secured Notes as Fixed Income Securities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The following table displays the carrying amount of the assets, liabilities and maximum exposure to loss of Ambac’s variable interests in non-consolidated VIEs resulting from financial guarantee and derivative contracts by major underlying asset classes, as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:



	Carrying Value of Assets and Liabilities
	Maximum Exposure To Loss ⁽¹⁾		Insurance Assets ⁽²⁾		Insurance Liabilities ⁽³⁾		Net Derivative Assets (Liabilities) ⁽⁴⁾
March 31, 2018:
Global structured finance:
Collateralized debt obligations	$	31,644	$	157	$	2	$	(13	)
Mortgage-backed—residential	8,033,584		1,742,097		670,052		—
Other consumer asset-backed	2,209,778		22,416		331,147		—
Other commercial asset-backed	934,919		27,527		30,837		—
Other	2,482,479		57,718		302,232		7,751
Total global structured finance	13,692,404		1,849,915		1,334,270		7,738
Global public finance	25,695,196		345,678		379,521		(1,005		)
Total	$	39,387,600	$	2,195,593	$	1,713,791	$	6,733

December 31, 2017:
Global structured finance:
Collateralized debt obligations	$	35,555	$	169	$	1	$	(15	)
Mortgage-backed—residential	12,766,685		619,848		3,218,356		—
Other consumer asset-backed	2,266,610		23,405		328,732		—
Other commercial asset-backed	987,797		30,413		35,976		—
Other	2,513,304		60,086		306,457		10,311
Total global structured finance	18,569,951		733,921		3,889,522		10,296
Global public finance	25,629,816		335,347		371,056		(551		)
Total	$	44,199,767	$	1,069,268	$	4,260,578	$	9,745

(1)

Maximum exposure to loss represents the maximum future payments of principal and interest on insured obligations and derivative contracts plus Deferred Amounts and accrued and unpaid interest thereon. On February 12, 2018, all Deferred Amounts and Interest Accrued on Deferred Amounts were settled in connection with the Rehabilitation Exit Transactions. Ambac’s maximum exposure to loss does not include the benefit of any financial instruments (such as reinsurance or hedge contracts) that Ambac may utilize to mitigate the risks associated with these variable interests.


(2)	Insurance assets represent the amount recorded in “Premium receivables” and “Subrogation recoverable” for financial guarantee contracts on Ambac’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.


(3)	Insurance liabilities represent the amount recorded in “Loss and loss expense reserves” and “Unearned premiums” for financial guarantee contracts on Ambac’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.


(4)	Net derivative assets (liabilities) represent the fair value recognized on credit derivative contracts and interest rate swaps on Ambac’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.