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Note 5 - VIEs (Notes)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
VIEs [Abstract]  
Variable Interest Entities [Text Block]
VIEs
As of March 31, 2013, we have determined that we are the primary beneficiary of our NIMS transactions and certain financial guaranty structured finance transactions. Our control rights in these VIEs, which we obtained due to an event of default or breach of a performance trigger as defined in the transaction, generally provide us with either a right to replace the VIE servicer or, in some cases, the right to direct the sale of the VIE assets. In those instances where we have determined that we are the primary beneficiary, we consolidate the assets and liabilities of the VIE. We have elected to carry the financial assets and financial liabilities of these VIEs at fair value. The following relates to our consolidated and unconsolidated VIEs.
Financial Guaranty Insurance Contracts
Our interests in VIEs for which we are not the primary beneficiary are accounted for as insurance, reinsurance or credit derivatives. For insurance and reinsurance contracts, we record reserves for losses and LAE, and for credit derivatives, we record cumulative changes in fair value as a derivative asset or liability.
In continually assessing our involvement with VIEs, we consider certain events such as the VIE’s failure to meet certain contractual conditions, including performance tests and triggers, servicer termination events and events of default, that, should they occur, may provide us with additional control rights over the VIE for a limited number of our transactions. The occurrence of these events would cause us to reassess our initial determination of whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE. In addition, changes to its governance structure that would allow us to direct the activities of a VIE or our acquisition of additional financial interests in the VIE, would also cause us to reassess our determination of whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE. Many of our financial guaranty contracts provide us with substantial control rights over the activities of VIEs upon the occurrence of default or other performance triggers described above. Therefore, additional VIEs may be consolidated by us if these events were to occur. Prior to the occurrence of these contingent conditions, another party (typically the collateral manager, servicer or equity holder) involved with the transaction holds the power to manage the VIE’s assets and to impact the economic performance of the VIE, without our ability to control or direct such powers.
In the second quarter of 2012, Radian Asset Assurance entered into a commutation with one of its derivative counterparties (the “Counterparty”) to commute credit protection through CDS on six directly insured TruPs CDO transactions, representing $699.0 million of net par outstanding at the time of the commutation (the “Terminated TruPs CDOs”). In consideration for this commutation, Radian Asset Assurance paid an amount, a significant portion of which (the “LPV Initial Capital”) was deposited with a limited purpose vehicle (an “LPV”) to cover the Counterparty’s potential future losses on the TruPs bonds underlying the Terminated TruPs CDOs (the “Terminated TruPs Bonds”).
As a result of this transaction, we consolidated the LPV VIE that was formed upon execution. Also as part of this transaction, the LPV entered into a CDS (the “Residual CDS”) with the Counterparty to provide for payments to the Counterparty for future losses relating to the Terminated TruPs Bonds. The LPV Initial Capital, together with investment earnings (collectively, the “LPV Capital”), represent the only funds available to pay the Counterparty for amounts due under the Residual CDS. Radian Asset Assurance has no further obligation for claims related to the Terminated TruPs CDOs. The Residual CDS terminates concurrently with the Terminated TruPs Bonds for which we had provided credit protection and provides for payment to the Counterparty substantially in accordance with the terms of our original CDS protection for the Terminated TruPs Bonds. In addition, pursuant to an agreement with the Counterparty, if any LPV Capital amount is remaining following the maturity of the Residual CDS, Radian Asset Assurance is entitled to these remaining funds.
For GAAP accounting purposes, we evaluated the LPV (a VIE) to determine if we would be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIE. We have the obligation to absorb the majority of the VIE’s losses and the right to receive the majority of any remaining funds through our residual interest agreement. In addition, we have the ability to impact the activities of the VIE in certain limited ways that could impact the economic performance of this VIE. As a result of these obligations and rights, we concluded that we are the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The consolidated assets of the LPV primarily consist of a guaranteed investment contract that is presented within other invested assets, which would be used to settle any obligations of this VIE under the Residual CDS. The Residual CDS represents the liability of the VIE, for which the Counterparty does not have recourse to our general credit for this consolidated liability. The Residual CDS held by the LPV is carried at fair value and we have also elected to carry the investments at fair value.
We also consolidate the assets and liabilities associated with two other financial guaranty structured finance transactions. In these transactions, we provide guarantees for VIEs that own manufactured housing loans. Prior to their consolidation, these transactions had been accounted for as insurance contracts. Due to the contractual provisions that allow us to replace and appoint the servicer who manages the collateral underlying the assets of the transactions, we concluded that we have the power to direct the activities of these VIEs. In addition, as the guarantor of certain classes of debt issued by these VIEs, we have the obligation to absorb losses that could be significant to these VIEs. The assets of these VIEs may only be used to settle the obligations of the VIEs, while due to the nature of our guarantees, creditors have recourse to our general credit as it relates to the VIE debt. However, due to the seniority of the bonds we insure in these transactions, we do not expect to incur a loss from our involvement with these two VIEs; as such, we did not have a net liability recorded for these transactions as of March 31, 2013 and do not expect to pay any losses. We had also previously consolidated the assets and liabilities associated with one CDO of ABS VIE that was commuted in the second quarter of 2012. The consolidated assets of this CDO of ABS VIE were accounted for as trading securities and represented assets to be used to settle the obligation of this VIE.

The following tables provide a summary of our maximum exposure to losses, and the financial impact on our condensed consolidated balance sheets, our condensed consolidated statements of operations and our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows as of and for the periods indicated, as it relates to our consolidated and unconsolidated financial guaranty insurance contracts and credit derivative VIEs:
 
Consolidated
 
Unconsolidated
(In thousands)
March 31, 2013
 
December 31, 2012
 
March 31, 2013
 
December 31, 2012
Balance Sheet:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other invested assets
$
76,919

 
$
78,006

 
$

 
$

       Derivative assets

 

 
1,732

 
3,201

       Premiums receivable

 

 
2,687

 
2,859

       Other assets
96,693

 
99,337

 

 

       Unearned premiums

 

 
2,345

 
2,513

       Reserve for losses and LAE

 

 
14,112

 
14,376

       Derivative liabilities
66,752

 
70,467

 
336,430

 
175,781

       VIE debt—at fair value
96,339

 
98,983

 

 

       Accounts payable and accrued expenses
3,001

 
365

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maximum exposure (1)
118,431

 
120,939

 
4,977,626

 
5,096,718

______________________
(1)
The difference between the carrying amounts of the net asset/liability position and maximum exposure related to VIEs is primarily due to the difference between the face amount of the obligation and the recorded fair values, which include an adjustment for our non-performance risk, as applicable. For those VIEs that have recourse to our general credit, the maximum exposure is based on the net par amount of our insured obligation. For any VIEs that do not have recourse to our general credit, the maximum exposure is generally based on the recorded net assets of the VIE, as of the reporting date.
 
Consolidated
 
Unconsolidated
 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
(In thousands)
2013
 
2012
 
2013
 
2012
Statement of Operations:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       Premiums earned
$

 
$

 
$
324

 
$
509

       Net investment income
443

 
2,014

 

 

       Net loss on investments
(1,530
)
 
(2,863
)
 

 

       Change in fair value of derivative
       instruments—gain (loss)
3,062

 
(1,227
)
 
(160,975
)
 
(81,673
)
       Net gain (loss) on other financial
       instruments
1,155

 
(30,085
)
 

 

       Provision for losses—(decrease) increase

 

 
(10
)
 
6,219

       Other operating expenses
503

 
716

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Cash Inflow
114

 
196

 
1,215

 
2,827



NIMS VIEs
Our control rights in our NIMS transactions, which we obtained due to an event of default or breach of a performance trigger as defined in the transaction, generally provide us with either a right to replace the VIE servicer or, in some cases, the right to direct the sale of the VIE assets. As the guarantor of either all or a significant portion of the debt issued by each NIMS VIE, we have the obligation to absorb losses that are significant to the VIEs. In those instances where we have determined that we are the primary beneficiary, we consolidate the assets and liabilities of the VIE. We have elected to carry the financial assets and financial liabilities of these VIEs at fair value. Our VIE debt includes amounts for which third parties do not have recourse to us.
In total, our net cash inflow related to NIMS during 2013 has been primarily investment income on bonds held. We have two remaining NIMS transactions, which mature in December 2013 and May 2035, respectively. The following tables provide a summary of our maximum exposure to losses, and the financial impact on our condensed consolidated balance sheets, our condensed consolidated statements of operations and our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows as of and for the periods indicated, as it relates to our consolidated NIMS VIEs:
(In thousands)
March 31,
2013
 
December 31,
2012
Balance Sheet:
 
 
 
       Derivative assets
$
1,578

 
$
1,585

       VIE debt—at fair value
11,062

 
9,875

 
 
 
 
Maximum exposure (1)
14,061

 
14,061

______________________
(1)
The difference between the carrying amounts of the net asset/liability position and maximum exposure related to VIEs is primarily due to the difference between the face amount of the obligation and the recorded fair values, which include an adjustment for our non-performance risk. The maximum exposure is based on the net par amount of our insured obligation as of the reporting date.

 
Three Months Ended
March 31,
(In thousands)
2013
 
2012
Statement of Operations:
 
 
 
       Net investment income
$
55

 
$
138

       Change in fair value of derivative instruments—loss

 
(5
)
       Net loss on other financial instruments
(1,199
)
 
(2,524
)
 
 
 
 
Net Cash Inflow
49

 
3,281