XML 53 R22.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v2.4.1.9

Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies (Notes) | 3 Months Ended
--- | ---
Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Legal Proceedings We are routinely involved in a number of legal actions and proceedings, the outcomes of which are uncertain. The legal proceedings could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, injunctions, restitutions or other relief that could require significant expenditures or have other effects on our business. In accordance with applicable accounting standards and guidance, we establish accruals for a legal proceeding only when we determine both that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable. We accrue the amount that represents our best estimate of the probable loss; however, if we can only determine a range of estimated losses, we accrue an amount within the range that, in our judgment, reflects the most likely outcome, and if none of the estimates within the range is more likely, we accrue the minimum amount of the range. In the course of our regular review of pending legal matters, we determine whether it is reasonably possible that a potential loss relating to a legal proceeding may have a material impact on our liquidity, results of operations or financial condition. If we determine such a loss is reasonably possible, we disclose information relating to such potential loss, including an estimate or range of loss or a statement that such an estimate cannot be made. On a quarterly and annual basis, we review relevant information with respect to legal loss contingencies and update our accruals, disclosures and estimates of reasonably possible losses or range of losses based on such reviews. We are often unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss until developments in such matters have provided sufficient information to support an assessment of the range of possible loss, such as quantification of a damage demand from plaintiffs, discovery from other parties and investigation of factual allegations, rulings by the court on motions or appeals, analysis by experts, and the progress of settlement negotiations. In addition, we generally make no disclosures for loss contingencies that are determined to be remote. For matters for which we disclose an estimated loss, the disclosed estimate reflects the reasonably possible loss or range of loss in excess of the amount accrued, if any. Loss estimates are inherently subjective, based on currently available information, and are subject to management’s judgment and various assumptions. Due to the inherently subjective nature of these estimates and the uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding the outcome of legal proceedings, actual results may differ materially from any amounts that have been accrued. As previously disclosed, we have been named as a defendant in a number of putative class action lawsuits alleging, among other things, that our captive reinsurance agreements violate RESPA. Each of the cases set forth below were putative class actions that asserted violations of RESPA in which Radian Guaranty had been named as a defendant and had insured at least one loan of one of the plaintiffs.
• | On December 30, 2011, a putative class action under RESPA titled White v. PNC Financial Services Group was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
• | On January 13, 2012, a putative class action under RESPA titled Menichino, et al. v. Citibank, N.A., et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Radian Guaranty was not named as a defendant in the original complaint. On December 4, 2012, plaintiffs amended their complaint to add Radian Guaranty as an additional defendant.
• | On April 5, 2012, a putative class action under RESPA titled Manners, et al. v. Fifth Third Bank, et al was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
On March 25, 2015, Radian Guaranty and the plaintiffs in the putative class action lawsuits above entered into a settlement agreement, pursuant to which the plaintiffs agreed to voluntarily dismiss their claims with prejudice and to fully release Radian Guaranty from any future claims related to the claims in these lawsuits. In addition to the litigation discussed above, we are involved in litigation that has arisen in the normal course of our business. We are contesting the allegations in each such pending action and management believes, based on current knowledge and after consultation with counsel, that the outcome of such litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition. However, the outcome of litigation and other legal and regulatory matters is inherently uncertain, and it is possible that one or more of the matters currently pending or threatened could have an unanticipated adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations for any particular period. In addition to the private lawsuits discussed above, we and other mortgage insurers have been subject to inquiries from the Minnesota Department of Commerce requesting information relating to captive reinsurance. We have cooperated with these requests for information. In August 2013, Radian Guaranty and other mortgage insurers first received a draft Consent Order from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, containing proposed conditions and unspecified penalties, to resolve its outstanding inquiries related to captive reinsurance arrangements involving mortgage insurance in Minnesota. We continue to cooperate with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and are engaged in active discussions with them with respect to their inquiries, including the penalties they are seeking and various alternatives for resolving this matter. We cannot predict the outcome of this matter or whether additional actions or proceedings may be brought against us. We have not entered into any new captive reinsurance arrangements since 2007. On September 4, 2014, we received Notices of Deficiency covering the 2000 through 2007 tax years that assert unpaid taxes and penalties of approximately $157 million. The Deficiency Amount has not been reduced to reflect our NOL carryback ability. On December 3, 2014, we petitioned the U.S. Tax Court to litigate the Deficiency Amount. See Note 12 for additional information regarding this litigation. Our Master Policies establish the timeline within which any suit or action arising from any right of an insured under the policy generally must be commenced. We continue to face a number of challenges from certain customers regarding our Loss Mitigation Activities, which have resulted in some reversals of our decisions regarding Rescissions, Claim Denials or Claim Curtailments. We are currently in discussions with some customers regarding our Loss Mitigation Activities and our claim payment practices, which if not resolved, could result in arbitration or additional judicial proceedings. See Note 9 for further information. Further, we have identified a significant number of loans in our total defaulted portfolio (in particular, our older defaulted portfolio) for which actions or proceedings such as foreclosure that provide the insured with title to the property may not have been commenced within the outermost deadline established in our Prior Master Policy. We currently are in discussions with the servicers for these loans regarding this potential violation and our corresponding rights under the Prior Master Policy. While we can provide no assurance regarding the outcome of these discussions or the ultimate resolution of these issues, it is possible that these discussions could result in arbitration or legal proceedings. The elevated levels of our Loss Mitigation Activities (related to servicer negligence) have led to an increased risk of litigation by lenders, policyholders and servicers challenging our right to rescind coverage, deny claims or curtail claim amounts. We believe that our loss mitigation actions are justified under our policies. However, in the event we are not successful in defending our Loss Mitigation Activities, we may need to reassume the risk on and increase loss reserves for previous Rescissions or pay additional claims on curtailed amounts. See Note 9 for further information. Other Securities regulations became effective in 2005 that impose enhanced disclosure requirements on issuers of ABS (including mortgage-backed securities). To allow our customers to comply with these regulations at that time, we typically were required, depending on the amount of credit enhancement we were providing, to provide: (1) audited financial statements for the insurance subsidiary participating in the transaction; or (2) a full and unconditional holding company-level guarantee for our insurance subsidiaries’ obligations in such transactions. Radian Group has guaranteed two structured transactions for Radian Guaranty involving approximately $126.4 million of remaining credit exposure as of March 31, 2015. As part of the non-investment-grade allocation component of our investment program, we had unfunded commitments of $7.3 million at March 31, 2015, related to alternative investments that are primarily private equity structures. These commitments have capital calls expected through 2015, with the possibility of additional calls through 2017, and certain fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. Radian Asset Assurance, our former financial guaranty subsidiary, received a series of claims (€13.5 million, or $16.4 million, as of December 31, 2014) from one of its trade credit and surety ceding companies related to surety bonds for Spanish housing cooperative developments. This legal matter was part of our discontinued operations as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2015, and was transferred to Assured as part of the sale of Radian Asset Assurance on April 1, 2015, pursuant to the Radian Asset Assurance Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of December 22, 2014. As a result, we no longer have any risk of loss associated with this matter.

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.25) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 825 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6449706&loc=d3e16207-108621 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6398077&loc=d3e12565-110249 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14435-108349 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 440 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6394976&loc=d3e25287-109308 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration