Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Assets measured at fair value included those listed, by hierarchy level, in the following tables as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:



December 31, 2016
(In thousands)	Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies	$	73,530	$	30,690	$	42,840	$	—
Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivisions	2,143,016		—		2,142,325		691
Corporate debt securities	1,743,910		—		1,743,910		—
ABS	59,565		—		59,565		—
RMBS	224,209		—		224,209		—
CMBS	319,817		—		319,817		—
CLOs	121,175		—		121,175		—
Total debt securities	4,685,222		30,690		4,653,841		691
Equity securities ⁽¹⁾	7,128		2,860		—		4,268
Total investments	$	4,692,350	$	33,550	$	4,653,841	$	4,959
Real estate acquired ⁽²⁾	$	11,748	$	—	$	—	$	11,748



December 31, 2015
(In thousands)	Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of U.S. government corporations and agencies	$	160,584	$	46,197	$	114,387	$	—
Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivisions	1,792,527		—		1,791,299		1,228
Corporate debt securities	2,004,763		—		2,004,763		—
ABS	116,617		—		116,617		—
RMBS	257,648		—		257,648		—
CMBS	233,491		—		233,491		—
CLOs	60,200		—		60,200		—
Debt securities issued by foreign sovereign governments	31,731		31,731		—		—
Total debt securities	4,657,561		77,928		4,578,405		1,228
Equity securities ⁽¹⁾	5,645		2,790		—		2,855
Total investments	$	4,663,206	$	80,718	$	4,578,405	$	4,083
Real estate acquired ⁽²⁾	$	12,149	$	—	$	—	$	12,149


⁽¹⁾	Equity securities in Level 3 are carried at cost, which approximates fair value.


⁽²⁾	Real estate acquired through claim settlement, which is held for sale, is reported in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets.

For assets and liabilities measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 is shown in the following tables. There were no transfers into or out of Level 3 in those years and there we no losses included in earnings for those years attributable to the change in unrealized losses on assets still held at the end of each applicable year.

Level 3 reconciliations:

(In thousands)	Obligations of U.S. States and Political Subdivisions			Equity Securities			Total Investments			Real Estate Acquired
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	1,228		$	2,855		$	4,083		$	12,149
Total realized/unrealized gains (losses):
Included in earnings and reported as net realized investment gains	—			3,579			3,579			—
Included in earnings and reported as losses incurred, net	—			—			—			(1,142		)
Purchases	—			4,258			4,258			36,859
Sales	(537		)	(6,424		)	(6,961		)	(36,118		)
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	691		$	4,268		$	4,959		$	11,748



(In thousands)	Obligations of U.S. States and Political Subdivisions			Equity Securities		Total Investments			Real Estate Acquired
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	1,846		$	321	$	2,167		$	12,658
Total realized/unrealized gains (losses):
Included in earnings and reported as losses incurred, net	—			—		—			(2,322		)
Purchases	7			2,534		2,541			34,624
Sales	(625		)	—		(625		)	(32,811		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	1,228		$	2,855	$	4,083		$	12,149



(In thousands)	Obligations of U.S. States and Political Subdivisions			Equity Securities		Total Investments			Real Estate Acquired
Balance at December 31, 2013	$	2,423		$	321	$	2,744		$	13,280
Total realized/unrealized gains (losses):
Included in earnings and reported as losses incurred, net	—			—		—			(4,129		)
Purchases	30			—		30			42,247
Sales	(607		)	—		(607		)	(38,740		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	1,846		$	321	$	2,167		$	12,658

Authoritative guidance over disclosures about the fair value of financial instruments requires additional disclosure for financial instruments not measured at fair value. Certain financial instruments, including insurance contracts, are excluded from these fair value disclosure requirements. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents (Level 1) and accrued investment income (Level 2) approximated their fair values.

As of December 31, 2016, the majority of the $5.0 million balance of Level 3 securities are equity securities that can only be redeemed or sold at their par value and only to the security issuer, with the remainder of the balance held in a state premium tax credit investment. The state premium tax credit investment has an average maturity of less than 3 years and a credit rating of AAA, and its balance reflects its remaining scheduled payments discounted at an average annual rate of 7.1%. As of December 31, 2015 our Level 3 securities were equity securities that can only be redeemed or sold at their par value and only to the security issuer and state premium tax credit investments. As of December 31, 2014 the majority of our Level 3 securities were state premium tax credit investments.

Additional fair value disclosures related to our investment portfolio are included in Note 5 – “Investments.”

We incur financial liabilities in the normal course of our business. The following table presents the carrying value and fair value of our financial liabilities disclosed, but not carried, at fair value at December 31, 2016 and 2015. The fair values of our 5% Notes, 2% Notes, 5.75% Notes, and 9% Debentures were based on observable market prices and the fair value of the FHLB Advance was estimated using discounted cash flows on current incremental borrowing rates for similar borrowing arrangements, and in all cases they are categorized as Level 2. See Note 7 - "Debt" for a description of the financial liabilities in the table below.



	December 31, 2016				December 31, 2015
(In thousands)	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
Financial liabilities:
FHLB Advance	$	155,000	$	151,905	n/a		n/a
5% Notes	144,789		147,679		331,546		345,616
2% Notes	204,672		308,605		490,755		701,955
5.75% Notes	417,406		445,987		n/a		n/a
9% Debentures	256,872		323,040		389,522		455,067
Total financial liabilities	$	1,178,739	$	1,377,216	$	1,211,823	$	1,502,638

The 5% Notes, 2% Notes, 5.75% Notes, and 9% Debentures are obligations of our holding company, MGIC Investment Corporation, and not of its subsidiaries.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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