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Financial Guaranty Variable Interest Entities and Consolidated Investment Vehicles
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Financial Guaranty Variable Interest Entities and Consolidated Investment Vehicles Financial Guaranty Variable Interest Entities and Consolidated Investment Vehicles
Accounting Policy

The types of entities that the Company assesses for consolidation principally include: (i) financial guaranty variable interest entities, which include entities whose debt obligations the Company insures in its financial guaranty business and Puerto Rico Trusts, and (ii) investment vehicles in which the Company has a variable interest and which Sound Point manages, including (1) Sound Point funds since July 1, 2023 and (2) CLOs that are collateralized financing entities (CFEs), and CLO warehouses managed by AssuredIM prior to July 1, 2023.

For each of these types of entities, the Company first determines whether the entity is a VIE or a voting interest entity (VOE) which involves assessing, among other conditions, (i) whether the equity investment at risk is sufficient to cover the
entity’s expected losses and (ii) whether the holders of the equity investment at risk (as a group) have substantive voting rights. The Company reassesses whether an entity is a VIE upon the occurrence of certain significant events.

If the entity being evaluated for consolidation is not initially determined to be a VIE (or, later, if a significant event occurs that causes an entity to no longer qualify as a VIE), then the entity is a VOE. Consolidation generally is required when the Company, directly or indirectly, has a controlling financial interest of the VOE being assessed.

For entities determined to be a VIE and in which the Company has a variable interest, the Company assesses whether it is the primary beneficiary of the VIE at the time it becomes involved with the entity and performs this assessment quarterly. In determining whether it is the primary beneficiary, the Company considers all facts and circumstances, including an evaluation of economic interests in the VIE held directly and indirectly through related parties. The Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE when it has both: (i) the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance; and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses (or the right to receive benefits) from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE.

If the Company concludes that it is the primary beneficiary of the VIE, the VIE is consolidated in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. If, as part of its continual reassessment of the primary beneficiary determination, the Company concludes that it is no longer the primary beneficiary of a VIE, the Company deconsolidates the VIE and recognizes the impact of that change on the consolidated financial statements.

FG VIEs

For FG VIEs other than the Puerto Rico Trusts, the Company elected the fair value option (FVO) for all assets and liabilities. Upon initial adoption of the accounting guidance for VIEs in 2010, the Company elected to fair value its structured finance FG VIEs’ assets and liabilities as the carrying amount transition method was not practical. To allow for consistency in the accounting for the assets and liabilities of its consolidated FG VIEs other than the Puerto Rico Trusts, the Company elected the FVO.

The consolidated Puerto Rico Trusts described below primarily included (i) cash or fixed-maturity debt securities that were carried at fair value and classified as either available-for-sale or trading securities similar to the fixed-maturity debt securities received pursuant to the 2022 Puerto Rico Resolutions and reported in the investment portfolio, and (ii) Puerto Rico Trust liabilities for which the Company elected the FVO in order to simplify the accounting for these instruments

The change in fair value of FG VIEs’ assets and liabilities is reported in “fair value gains (losses) on FG VIEs” in the consolidated statement of operations, except for (i) the change in fair value attributable to change in instrument-specific credit risk (ISCR) on FG VIEs’ liabilities, and (ii) unrealized gains and losses on the New Recovery Bonds that were held in the Puerto Rico Trusts, which are both reported in “other comprehensive income (loss)” (OCI) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). Interest income and interest expense are derived from the trustee reports and also included in “fair value gains (losses) on FG VIEs.” Investment income on the New Recovery Bonds and changes in fair value on the CVIs that were held in the Puerto Rico Trusts were all reported in “fair value gains (losses) on FG VIEs” on the consolidated statement of operations.

For those FG VIE liabilities with recourse to the Company, the portion of the inception-to-date change in fair value, attributable to ISCR, is calculated by holding all current period assumptions constant for each security and isolating the effect of the change in AG’s CDS spread from the most recent date of consolidation to the current period. In general, if the Company’s CDS spread tightens, more value will be assigned to AG’s credit; however, if AG’s CDS spread widens, less value is assigned to the Company’s credit.

The Company has limited contractual rights to obtain the financial records of its consolidated structured finance FG VIEs. The structured finance FG VIEs do not prepare separate GAAP financial statements; therefore, the Company compiles the FG VIE GAAP financial information based on trustee reports prepared by and received from third parties. Such trustee reports are not available to the Company in time for quarterly reporting and therefore FG VIEs other than the Puerto Rico Trusts are reported on a one-quarter lag. As a result of the lag, cash and short-term investments do not reflect any cash outflows (due to claim payments made by the Company) to the holders of the FG VIEs’ debt until the subsequent reporting period.

The cash flows generated by the FG VIEs’ assets, except for interest income, are classified as cash flows from investing activities. Paydowns of FG VIEs’ liabilities are supported by the cash flows generated by FG VIEs’ assets and, for liabilities with recourse, possibly claim payments made by AGM or AG under their financial guaranty insurance
contracts. Paydowns of FG VIEs’ liabilities both with and without recourse are classified as cash flows used in financing activities. Interest income, interest expense and other expenses of the FG VIEs’ assets and liabilities are classified as operating cash flows. Claim payments made by AGM and AG under the financial guaranty contracts issued to the FG VIEs are eliminated upon consolidation. Therefore, such claim payments are treated as paydowns of the FG VIEs’ liabilities and as a financing activity as opposed to an operating activity.

The Company’s exposure provided through its financial guaranties with respect to debt obligations of FG VIEs is included within net par outstanding in Note 3, Outstanding Exposure.

CIVs

CIVs consist of certain Sound Point (and prior to July 1, 2023, AssuredIM) funds, CLOs and CLO warehouses in which the Company is the primary beneficiary. The consolidated funds are investment companies for accounting purposes and, therefore, account for their underlying investments at fair value. All CLOs and CLO warehouses (collectively, the consolidated CLOs) were deconsolidated by the Company on July 1, 2023. Changes in the fair value of assets and liabilities of CIVs, interest income and interest expense are reported in “fair value gains (losses) on consolidated investment vehicles” in the consolidated statements of operations. Interest income from CLO assets is recorded based on contractual rates. All CIVs are reported on a one-quarter lag.

Upon consolidation of a Sound Point (and prior to July 1, 2023, AssuredIM) fund, the Company records noncontrolling interest (NCI) for the portion of each fund owned by any third-party investors and employees.

Investment transactions in the consolidated Sound Point (and prior to July 1, 2023, AssuredIM) funds are recorded on a trade/contract date basis. Money market investments held by these consolidated funds are classified as cash equivalents and carried at cost, consistent with those funds’ separately issued financial statements. Therefore, the Company has included these amounts in the total amount of cash and cash equivalents on the consolidated statements of cash flows. Cash flows of the CIVs attributable to such entities’ investment purchases and dispositions, as well as operating expenses of the investment vehicles, are presented as cash flows from operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Borrowings under credit facilities, debt issuances and repayments and capital cash flows to and from investors are presented as financing activities, consistent with investment company guidelines.

FG VIEs

Structured Finance FG VIEs

The insurance subsidiaries provide financial guaranties with respect to debt obligations of special purpose entities, including VIEs, but do not act as the servicer or collateral manager for any VIE obligations they guarantee. The transaction structure generally provides certain financial protections to the insurance subsidiaries. This financial protection can take several forms, the most common of which are overcollateralization, first loss protection (or subordination) and excess spread. In the case of overcollateralization (i.e., the principal amount of the securitized assets exceeds the principal amount of the structured finance obligations), the structure allows defaults of the securitized assets before a default is experienced on the structured finance obligation guaranteed by the insurance subsidiaries. In the case of first loss, the insurance subsidiaries’ financial guaranty insurance policy only covers a senior layer of losses experienced by multiple obligations issued by the VIEs. The first loss exposure with respect to the assets is either retained by the seller or sold off in the form of equity or mezzanine debt to other investors. In the case of excess spread, the financial assets contributed to VIEs generate interest income that is in excess of the interest payments on the debt issued by the VIE. Such excess spread is typically distributed through the transaction’s cash flow waterfall and may be used to create additional credit enhancement, applied to redeem debt issued by the VIE (thereby, creating additional overcollateralization), or distributed to equity or other investors in the transaction.

The insurance subsidiaries are not primarily liable for the insured debt obligations issued by the structured finance FG VIEs (which excludes the Puerto Rico Trusts described below) and would only be required to make payments on those insured debt obligations in the event that the issuer of such debt obligations defaults on any principal or interest due and only for the amount of the shortfall. AGL’s and its insurance subsidiaries’ creditors do not have any rights with regard to the collateral supporting the debt issued by the structured finance FG VIEs. Proceeds from sales, maturities, prepayments and interest from such underlying collateral may only be used to pay debt service on the respective FG VIEs’ liabilities.
 
As part of the terms of its financial guaranty contracts, the insurance subsidiaries obtain certain protective rights with respect to the VIE that give them additional controls over a VIE. These protective rights are triggered by the occurrence of
certain events, such as failure to be in compliance with a covenant due to poor deal performance or a deterioration in a servicer’s or collateral manager’s financial condition. At deal inception, the insurance subsidiaries typically are not deemed to control the VIE; however, once a trigger event occurs, the insurance subsidiaries’ control of the VIE typically increases. The Company continuously evaluates its power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of VIEs that have debt obligations insured by the insurance subsidiaries and, accordingly, where they are obligated to absorb VIE losses or receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The insurance subsidiaries are deemed to be the control party for certain VIEs under GAAP, typically when their protective rights give them the power to both terminate and replace the transaction’s servicer or collateral manager, which are characteristics specific to the Company’s financial guaranty contracts. If the protective rights that could make the insurance subsidiaries the control party have not been triggered, then the VIE is not consolidated. If the insurance subsidiaries are deemed to no longer have those protective rights, the VIE is deconsolidated.

The structured finance FG VIEs’ liabilities that are guaranteed by the insurance subsidiaries are considered to be with recourse, because the insurance subsidiaries guarantee the payment of principal and interest regardless of the performance of the related FG VIEs’ assets. The structured finance FG VIEs’ liabilities that are not guaranteed by the insurance subsidiaries are considered to be without recourse, because the payment of principal and interest of these liabilities is wholly dependent on the performance of the FG VIEs’ assets.

Number of Consolidated
Structured Finance FG VIEs
 Year Ended December 31,
 202420232022
 
Beginning of year24 25 25 
Consolidated— — 
Deconsolidated (1)(1)(2)
December 3123 24 25 

Puerto Rico Trusts

With respect to certain insured securities covered by the 2022 Puerto Rico Resolutions, insured bondholders were permitted to elect to receive custody receipts that represented an interest in the legacy insurance policy plus cash and investments. For those who made the election above, distributions of assets in the trusts were passed through to insured bondholders under the custody receipts to the extent of any cash or proceeds of new securities held in the custodial trust and were applied to make payments and/or prepayments of amounts due under the legacy insured bonds.

As of December 31, 2023, substantially all of the securities in the Puerto Rico Trusts had been called, and the assets in the Puerto Rico Trusts consisted primarily of cash. In 2024, after notice to the remaining holders of the PRHTA custody receipts, the Company satisfied its remaining direct insured obligations and deconsolidated the 24 custodial trusts that had been consolidated as of December 31, 2023.

Components of FG VIEs’ Assets and Liabilities

Net fair value gains and losses on FG VIEs are expected to reverse to zero by the maturity of the FG VIEs’ debt, except for net premiums received and net claims paid by the insurance subsidiaries under the financial guaranty insurance contracts. The Company’s estimate of expected loss to be paid (recovered) for FG VIEs is included in Note 4, Expected Loss to be Paid (Recovered).
The table below shows the carrying value of FG VIEs’ assets and liabilities, segregated by type of collateral.

Consolidated FG VIEs by Type of Collateral 
As of December 31,
 20242023
 (in millions)
FG VIEs’ assets:  
U.S. RMBS$147 $173 
Puerto Rico Trusts’ assets (includes $1 at fair value in 2023) (1)
— 155 
Total FG VIEs’ assets$147 $328 
FG VIEs’ liabilities with recourse:
U.S. RMBS$155 $177 
Puerto Rico Trusts’ liabilities— 366 
Total FG VIEs’ liabilities with recourse$155 $543 
FG VIEs’ liabilities without recourse:
U.S. RMBS$$11 
Total FG VIEs’ liabilities without recourse$$11 
____________________
(1)    Includes $154 million of cash as of December 31, 2023.

The change in the ISCR of the FG VIEs’ assets for which the Company elected the FVO (FG VIEs’ assets at FVO) held as of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 that was reported in the consolidated statements of operations was a loss of $5 million in 2024, gain of $3 million in 2023 and gain of $10 million in 2022. The ISCR amount is determined by using expected cash flows at the most recent date of consolidation, discounted at the effective yield, less current expected cash flows discounted at that same original effective yield.

Selected Information for FG VIEs’ Assets and Liabilities
Measured under the FVO
As of December 31,
 20242023
 (in millions)
Excess of unpaid principal over fair value of:
FG VIEs’ assets$264 $259 
FG VIEs’ liabilities with recourse 38 25 
FG VIEs’ liabilities without recourse16 16 
Unpaid principal balance for FG VIEs’ assets that were 90 days or more past due27 29 
Unpaid principal for FG VIEs’ liabilities with recourse (1)193 568 
____________________
(1)    FG VIEs’ liabilities with recourse will mature at various dates ranging from 2025 through 2038.

CIVs

CIVs consist of certain Sound Point funds for which the Company is the primary beneficiary or has a controlling interest. The Company consolidates investment vehicles that are VIEs when it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary based on its power to direct the most significant activities of each VIE and its level of economic interest in the entities.

As a result of the Sound Point Transaction and AHP Transaction, the Company deconsolidated CIV assets of $4.7 billion and CIV liabilities of $4.4 billion in 2023, and recognized a loss on deconsolidation of $16 million, which was reported in “fair value gains (losses) on CIVs.” In addition, at the time of deconsolidation, NCI decreased by $132 million. During 2022, the Company deconsolidated a CLO with assets and liabilities of $417 million.

The assets and liabilities of the Company’s CIVs are held within separate legal entities. The assets of the CIVs are not available to creditors of the Company, other than creditors of the applicable CIVs. In addition, creditors of the CIVs have no recourse against the assets of the Company, other than the assets of such applicable CIVs. Liquidity available at the Company’s
CIVs is not available for corporate liquidity needs, except to the extent of the Company’s investment in the funds, subject to redemption provisions.

In 2024, two CIVs distributed substantially all of their invested assets. After the distributions, as of December 31, 2024, the Company classifies the $293 million of the distributed investments as either (i) available-for-sale fixed-maturity securities (CLOs with a carrying value of $263 million), (ii) trading securities, (iii) equity method investments, or (iv) other invested assets.

The table below summarizes the change in the number of consolidated CIVs during each of the periods. During 2022, two consolidated CLO warehouses became CLOs.

Roll Forward of Number of Consolidated CIVs
 Year Ended December 31,
 202420232022
Beginning of year22 20 
Consolidated— — 
Deconsolidated(1)(19)(2)
December 3122 

Assets and Liabilities of CIVs
As of December 31,
20242023
 (in millions)
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$$35 
Equity securities and warrants 99 83 
Structured products— 248 
Total assets (1)$101 $366 
Liabilities (2)
$— $
____________________
(1)    Include investments with Sound Point affiliated entities of $99 million and $281 million as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
(2)    Includes $3 million with Sound Point affiliated entities as of December 31, 2023.

As of December 31, 2024, there were no derivative contracts in CIVs. As of December 31, 2023, the CIVs included derivative contracts with average notional amounts of $41 million. Derivative instruments, which included forward foreign currency contracts, served as a component of the CIVs’ investment strategies.

NCI in CIVs

NCI represents the portion of the consolidated funds not owned by the Company and includes ownership interests of third parties and former employees. The NCI is non-redeemable and presented on the statement of shareholders’ equity.

Other Consolidated VIEs

In certain instances where the Company consolidates a VIE that was established as part of a loss mitigation negotiated settlement that results in the termination of the obligations under the original financial guaranty insurance or insured credit derivative contract, the Company classifies the assets and liabilities of that VIE in the line items that most accurately reflect the nature of such assets and liabilities, as opposed to within FG VIEs’ assets and FG VIEs’ liabilities. The largest of these VIEs had assets of $92 million and liabilities of $7 million as of December 31, 2023, which were reported in “investments” and “other liabilities,” respectively, on the consolidated balance sheets. In the first quarter of 2024, the Company deconsolidated the largest of these VIEs.
Non-Consolidated VIEs

As described in Note 3, Outstanding Exposure, the Company monitors all policies in the insured portfolio. Of the approximately 15 thousand policies monitored as of December 31, 2024, approximately 14 thousand policies are not within the scope of FASB ASC 810, Consolidation, because these financial guaranties relate to the debt obligations of governmental organizations or financing entities established by a governmental organization. The majority of the remaining policies involve transactions where the Company is not deemed to currently have control over the FG VIEs’ most significant activities. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company identified 50 and 68 policies, respectively, that contain provisions and experienced events that may trigger consolidation.

The Company holds variable interests in non-FG VIEs which are not consolidated, as the Company is not the primary beneficiary. As of December 31, 2024 the Company’s maximum exposure to losses relating to these VIEs was $761 million, which is limited to the carrying value of these assets.