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Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of presentation
Basis of Presentation
The consolidated interim financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X as promulgated by the SEC. Accordingly, the financial statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited; however, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring items, considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods have been included. Dollar amounts are reported in millions, except per share data and other key metrics, unless otherwise noted.
The Company evaluated subsequent events through the date these interim consolidated financial statements were issued.
Basis of consolidation
Basis of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, other entities in which the Company has a controlling financial interest and those variable interest entities (“VIE”) where the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are the primary beneficiaries. Assets and liabilities of VIEs and their respective results of operations are consolidated from the date that the Company became the primary beneficiary through the date the Company ceases to be the primary beneficiary. The Company applies the equity method of accounting to investments where it is able to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the policies and procedures of the entity and owns less than 50% of the voting interests. Investments in certain companies over which the Company does not exert significant influence are accounted for as cost method investments. Intercompany balances and transactions on consolidated entities have been eliminated. Business combinations are included in the consolidated financial statements from their respective dates of acquisition.
Use of estimates
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates due to factors such as adverse changes in the economy, changes in interest rates, secondary market pricing for loans held for sale and derivatives, strength of underwriting and servicing practices, changes in prepayment assumptions, declines in home prices or discrete events adversely affecting specific borrowers, uncertainties in the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, and such differences could be material.
Recent accounting guidance adopted and not yet adopted
Recent Accounting Guidance Adopted
Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), (“ASU 2016-13”) requires expected credit losses for financial instruments held at the reporting date to be measured based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts, which is referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) methodology. The update eliminates the initial recognition of credit losses on an incurred basis in current GAAP and instead reflects an entity’s current estimate of all expected credit losses over the life of the asset. Previously, when credit losses were measured under GAAP, an entity generally only considered past events and current conditions in measuring the incurred loss. The new standard will reflect management’s best estimate of all expected credit losses for the Company’s financial assets that are recognized at amortized cost. The guidance was effective for the Company as of January 1, 2020, with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of that date.

Based upon management’s scoping analysis, the Company determined that reverse mortgage interests, net of reserves, advances and other receivables, net of reserves, and certain financial instruments included in other assets are within the scope of ASU 2016-13. Certain financial instruments within these respective line items have been determined to have limited expected credit-related losses due to the contractual servicing agreements with agencies and loan product guarantees. For advances and other receivables, net, the Company determined that the majority of estimated losses are due to servicing operational errors and credit-related losses are not significant because of the contractual relationships with the agencies. For reverse mortgage interests the Company determined that the guarantee from Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) on Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (“HECM“) loan products limits credit-related losses to an immaterial amount with substantially all losses related to servicing operational errors. For other assets, primarily trade receivables, the Company determined that these are short-term in nature (less than one year), and the estimated credit-related losses over the life of these receivables are similar to those resulting from the Company’s existing loss reserve process. For each of the aforementioned financial instruments carried at amortized cost, the Company enhanced its processes to consider and include the requirements of ASU 2016-13, as applicable, into the determination of credit-related losses.

On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13 using the modified retrospective method for the above-mentioned financial assets. Results for reporting periods after January 1, 2020 are presented under ASU 2016-13 while prior period amounts continue to be reported in accordance with previously applicable GAAP. The Company recorded transition adjustments aggregating to a net increase of $9, or $7 after tax, to retained earnings and a reduction of $7 to the advances and other receivables reserve and a $2 reduction in the other assets reserves, as of January 1, 2020 for the cumulative effect of adopting ASU 2016-13.

In connection with adoption of ASU 2016-13, the Company updated its accounting policies as follows:

For certain financial instruments included in advances and other receivables, net, and certain trade receivables and accrued revenues included in other assets that within the scope of ASU 2016-13, the reserve methodology was revised to consider CECL losses. The revised CECL methodology considers expected lifetime loss rates calculated from historical data using a weighted average life to determine the current expected credit loss required. Due to the nature of the financial instrument, reverse mortgage interests, net of reserves, and advances and other receivables had limited impact from the adoption of CECL to the reserve methodology. See Note 4, Advances and Other Receivables, Net, Note 5, Reverse Mortgage Interests, Net, and Note 7, Other Assets, for additional information.

Factors that influenced management’s current estimate of expected credit losses for certain advances and other receivables and certain trade receivables and accrued revenues included the following: historical collection and loss rates, passage of time, weighted average life of receivables, and various qualitative factors including current economic conditions.

Factors that influenced management’s current estimate of expected credit related losses for certain reverse mortgage interests included the following: historical collection and loss rates, foreclosure timelines, and values of underlying collateral.

Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820) - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, (“ASU 2018-13”) removes the requirement to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurement methodologies, the policy for timing of transfers between levels and the valuation processes for Level 3 fair value measurements. It also adds a requirement to disclose changes in unrealized gains and losses for the period included in other comprehensive income for recurring Level 3 fair value measurements held at the end of the reporting period and the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 measurements. For certain unobservable inputs, entities may disclose other quantitative information in lieu of the weighted average if the other quantitative information would be a more reasonable and rational method to reflect the distribution of unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements. The Company adopted ASU 2018-13 on January 1, 2020. The guidance does not have a material impact to the disclosures currently provided by the Company.
Fair value measurement
Fair value is a market-based measurement, not an entity-specific measurement, and should be determined based on the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. As a basis for considering market participant assumptions in fair value measurements, a three-tiered fair value hierarchy has been established based on the level of observable inputs used in the measurement of fair value (e.g., Level 1 representing quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in an active market; Level 2 representing values using observable inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1; and Level 3 representing estimated values based on significant unobservable inputs).

The following describes the methods and assumptions used by the Company in estimating fair values:

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash (Level 1) – The carrying amount reported in the consolidated balance sheets approximates fair value.

Mortgage Loans Held for Sale (Level 2) – The Company originates mortgage loans in the U.S. that it intends to sell into Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MBS. Additionally, the Company holds mortgage loans that it intends to sell into the secondary markets via whole loan sales or securitizations. The Company measures newly originated prime residential mortgage loans held for sale at fair value.

Mortgage loans held for sale are typically pooled together and sold into certain exit markets, depending upon underlying attributes of the loan, such as agency eligibility, product type, interest rate and credit quality. Mortgage loans held for sale are valued on a recurring basis using a market approach by utilizing either: (i) the fair value of securities backed by similar mortgage loans, adjusted for certain factors to approximate the fair value of a whole mortgage loan, (ii) current commitments to purchase loans or (iii) recent observable market trades for similar loans, adjusted for credit risk and other individual loan characteristics. As these prices are derived from market observable inputs, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 2 in the fair value disclosures.

The Company may acquire mortgage loans held for sale from various securitization trusts for which it acts as servicer through the exercise of various clean-up call options as permitted through the respective pooling and servicing agreements. The Company has elected to account for these loans at the lower of cost or market. The Company classifies these valuations as Level 2 in the fair value disclosures.

The Company may also purchase loans out of a Ginnie Mae securitization pool if that loan meets certain criteria, including being delinquent greater than 90 days. The Company has elected to carry these loans at fair value. See Note 6, Mortgage Loans Held for Sale, for more information.

Mortgage Servicing Rights – Fair Value (Level 3) – The Company estimates the fair value of its forward MSRs on a recurring basis using a process that combines the use of a discounted cash flow model and analysis of current market data to arrive at an estimate of fair value. The cash flow assumptions and prepayment assumptions used in the model are based on various factors, with the key assumptions being mortgage prepayment speeds, discount rates, ancillary revenues, earnings on escrow and costs to service. These assumptions are generated and applied based on collateral stratifications including product type, remittance type, geography, delinquency and coupon dispersion. These assumptions require the use of judgment by the Company and can have a significant impact on the fair value of the MSRs. Quarterly, management obtains third-party valuations to assess the reasonableness of the fair value calculations provided by the internal cash flow model. Because of the nature of the valuation inputs, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 3 in the fair value disclosures. See Note 3, Mortgage Servicing Rights and Related Liabilities, for more information.
Advances and Other Receivables, Net (Level 3) - Advances and other receivables, net are valued at their net realizable value after taking into consideration the reserves. Advances have no stated maturity. Their net realizable value approximates fair value as the net present value based on discounted cash flow is not materially different from the net realizable value. See Note 4, Advances and Other Receivables, Net for more information.

Reverse Mortgage Interests, Net (Level 3) – The Company’s reverse mortgage interests are primarily comprised of HECM loans that are insured by FHA and guaranteed by Ginnie Mae upon securitization. Quarterly, the Company estimates fair value using discounted cash flows, obtained from a third-party and supplemented with historical loss experience on similar assets, with the discount rate approximating that of similar financial instruments, as observed from recent trades with the HMBS. Key assumptions within the model are based on market participant benchmarks and include discount rates, cost to service, weighted average life of the portfolio, and estimated participating income. Discounted cash flows are applied based on collateral stratifications and include loan rate type, loan status (active vs. inactive), and securitization. Prices are also influenced from both internal models and other observable inputs. The Company determined fair value for all loans based on the applicable tranches established during the Merger valuation. Tranches are segregated based on participation percentages, original loan status as of the Merger date, and interest rate types, and loan status (active vs inactive). Prices are also influenced from both internal models and other observable inputs, including applicable forward interest rate curves. Additionally, historical loss factors are considered within the overall valuation. Because of the unobservable nature of the valuation inputs, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 3 in the fair value disclosures. See Note 5, Reverse Mortgage Interests, Net for more information.

Derivative Financial Instruments (Level 3 and Level 2) – The Company enters into a variety of derivative financial instruments as part of its hedging strategy and measures these instruments at fair value on a recurring basis in the consolidated balance sheets. Derivative instruments utilized by the Company primarily include IRLCs, LPCs, forward MBS trades, Eurodollar and Treasury futures and interest rate swap agreements.

During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Company changed the fair value classification of its IRLCs and LPCs derivatives from Level 2 to Level 3. IRLCs and LPCs are carried at fair value primarily based on secondary market prices for underlying mortgage loans, which is observable data, with adjustments made to such observable data for the inherent value of servicing, which is an unobservable input. The fair value is also subject to adjustments for the estimated pull-through rate. The impact of the unobservable input to the overall valuation of IRLCs and LPCs was previously much less significant, resulting in a classification of Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2019. During the three months ended June 30,2020, market interest rates continued to decline and fell to record lows, which drove an increase in the volume of the Company’s IRLCs and LPCs and increased the impact of the unobservable input on the overall valuation of IRLCs and LPCs. Such increased impact of the unobservable input on the overall valuation resulted in a classification of Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy as of June 30, 2020.

For other derivatives, they are exchange-traded or traded within highly active dealer markets. In order to determine the fair value of these instruments, the Company utilizes the exchange price or dealer market price for the particular derivative contract; therefore, the Company classifies these contracts as Level 2 in the fair value disclosure.

Derivative financial instruments are recorded in other assets and payables and other liabilities within the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 9, Derivative Financial Instruments, for more information.

Advance Facilities and Warehouse Facilities (Level 2) – As the underlying warehouse and advance finance facilities bear interest at a rate that is periodically adjusted based on a market index, the carrying amount reported at amortized cost on the consolidated balance sheets approximates fair value. See Note 9, Indebtedness, for more information.

Unsecured Senior Notes (Level 1) – The fair value of unsecured senior notes, which are carried at amortized cost, is based on quoted market prices and is considered Level 1 from the market observable inputs used to determine fair value. See Note 9, Indebtedness, for more information.

Excess Spread Financing (Level 3) – The Company estimates fair value on a recurring basis based on the present value of future expected discounted cash flows with the discount rate approximating current market value for similar financial instruments. The cash flow assumptions and prepayment assumptions used in the model are based on various factors, with the key assumptions being mortgage prepayment speeds, average life, recapture rates and discount rate. As these prices are derived from a combination of internally developed valuation models and quoted market prices based on the value of the underlying MSRs, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 3 in the fair value disclosures. Excess spread financing is recorded in MSR related liabilities within the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 3, Mortgage Servicing Rights and Related Liabilities, for more information.
Mortgage Servicing Rights Financing Liability (Level 3) - The Company estimates fair value on a recurring basis based on the present value of future expected discounted cash flows with the discount rate approximating current market value for similar financial instruments. The cash flow assumptions and prepayment assumptions used in the model are based on various factors, with the key assumptions being advance financing rates and annual advance recovery rates. As these assumptions are derived from internally developed valuation models based on the value of the underlying MSRs, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 3 in the fair value disclosures. Mortgage servicing rights financing liability is recorded in MSR related liabilities within the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 3, Mortgage Servicing Rights and Related Liabilities, for more information.

Participating Interest Financing (Level 3) – The Company estimates fair value based on the present value of future expected discounted cash flows with the discount rate approximating that of similar financial instruments. As the prices are derived from both internal models and other observable inputs, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 3 in the fair value disclosures. Participating interest financing is recorded in other nonrecourse debt within the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 5, Reverse Mortgage Interests, Net, and Note 9, Indebtedness, for more information.

HECM Securitizations (Level 3) – The Company estimates fair value using a market approach by utilizing the fair value of executed HECM securitizations. Since the executed HECM securitizations are private placements, the Company classifies these valuations as Level 3 in the fair value disclosures. HECM securitizations are recorded at amortized cost in other nonrecourse debt within the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 9, Indebtedness, for more information.
Business Segment Reporting In the second quarter of 2020, the Company updated its presentation of segment assets to be aligned with a change in the reporting package provided to the Chief Operating Decision Maker. The presentation change had no impact on the segments' operations. Assets allocated to the Servicing segment include MSRs; advances and other receivables, except for co-issue MSR holdback; Servicing related mortgage loans held for sale; and other assets including property, plant and equipment, lease-related assets, prepaid assets, and goodwill. Assets allocated to Originations segment include co-issue MSR holdback in advances and other receivables; Originations related mortgage loans held for sale; derivative assets; and other assets including property, plant and equipment, lease-related assets, prepaid assets, and goodwill. Assets allocated to the Xome segment include cash and cash equivalents; tax-related assets; receivables; and other assets including property, plant and equipment, lease-related assets, prepaid assets, goodwill, and other intangible assets. All assets that are not specifically identified or allocated to a reporting segment are reported as part of Corporate/Other segment, and include cash and cash equivalents; tax-related assets; and intangibles assets excluding goodwill and assets allocated to Xome. Eliminations are also included in Corporate/Other segment. Prior year financial information has been adjusted retrospectively to reflect the updated presentation.