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Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies (Notes) | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Legal Proceedings We are routinely involved in a number of legal actions, regulatory inquiries, investigations and reviews, audits and other 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 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 and other proceedings, actual results may differ materially from any amounts that have been accrued. As previously disclosed, we had been named as a defendant in certain putative class action lawsuits alleging, among other things, that our captive reinsurance agreements violated RESPA. The cases included The White Case, The Menichino Case and The Manners Case, as referenced in Note 17 of our 2014 Form 10-K. On March 25, 2015, Radian Guaranty and the plaintiffs in these putative class action lawsuits 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. 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. We are subject to regulatory inquiries, investigations and reviews. 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 June 2015, Radian Guaranty executed a Consent Order with the Minnesota Department of Commerce that resolved the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s outstanding inquiries related to captive reinsurance arrangements involving mortgage insurance in Minnesota without any findings of wrongdoing. As part of the Consent Order, Radian Guaranty paid an immaterial amount to Minnesota and agreed not to enter into new captive reinsurance arrangements for a period of ten years ending in June 2025. We have not entered into any new captive reinsurance arrangements since 2007. In June 2015, we and other mortgage insurers received a letter from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Wisconsin (“Wisconsin OCI”) requesting information pertaining to customized insurance rates and terms offered to mortgage insurance customers. We submitted a response to the Wisconsin OCI in June 2015, as requested. Although we believe we are in compliance with applicable Wisconsin state law requirements for mortgage guaranty insurance, we cannot predict the outcome of this matter or whether additional inquiries, actions or proceedings may be pursued against us by the Wisconsin OCI or other regulators. 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 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 $87.4 million of remaining credit exposure as of June 30, 2015. As part of the non-investment-grade allocation component of our investment program, we had unfunded commitments of $7.4 million at June 30, 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. As previously disclosed, 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 was transferred to Assured at the completion of the sale of Radian Asset Assurance on April 1, 2015, pursuant to the Radian Asset Assurance Stock Purchase Agreement. As a result, we no longer have any risk of loss associated with this matter.

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