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Note 17 - Commitments and Contingencies Level 1 (Notes) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | Commitments and Contingencies Legal and Regulatory Proceedings We are routinely involved in a number of legal actions, reviews and audits, as well as inquiries and investigations by various regulatory entities involving compliance with laws or other regulations, the outcome of which are uncertain. These 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 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 and regulatory matters, we determine whether it is reasonably possible that a potential loss 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 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. 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 also 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. In the past, 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 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. As described in Note 13, on September 4, 2014 we received formal Notices of Deficiency from the IRS related to certain losses and deductions resulting from our investment in a portfolio of non-economic REMIC residual interest. We believe that an adequate provision for income taxes has been made for the potential liabilities that may result from this matter. However, if the ultimate resolution of this matter produces a result that differs materially from our current expectations, there could be a material impact on our effective tax rate, results of operations and cash flows. 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. In general, any suit or action arising from any right of an insured under the policy must be commenced within two years after such right first arose for primary insurance and within three years for certain other policies, including certain pool insurance policies. Although we believe that our Loss Mitigation Activities are justified under our policies, we continue to face challenges from certain lender and servicer 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 these customers regarding Loss Mitigation Activities and our claim payment practices, which if not resolved, could result in arbitration or judicial proceedings and we may need to reassume the risk on, and increase loss reserves for, those policies or pay additional claims. See Note 10 for further information. Further, there are 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 in our Prior Master Policy. We are evaluating these loans regarding this potential violation and our corresponding rights under the Prior Master Policy. While we can provide no assurance regarding the ultimate resolution of these issues, it is possible that arbitration or legal proceedings could result. Other Securities regulations became effective in 2005 that impose enhanced disclosure requirements on issuers of ABS (including MBS). 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 $119.2 million of remaining credit exposure as of December 31, 2015. Our mortgage insurance business provides contract underwriting, an outsourced service to its customers. Under our current contract underwriting program the remedy we offer is limited indemnification to our contract underwriting customers only with respect to those loans that we simultaneously underwrite for both secondary market compliance and for potential mortgage insurance eligibility. In 2015, we paid losses related to contract underwriting remedies of approximately $0.01 million. In 2015, our provision for contract underwriting expenses was approximately $0.6 million and our reserve for contract underwriting obligations at December 31, 2015 was approximately $0.3 million. Rising mortgage interest rates or further economic uncertainty may expose our contract underwriting business to an increase in such costs. We monitor this risk and negotiate our underwriting fee structure and recourse agreements on a client-by-client basis. We also routinely audit the performance of our contract underwriters. We lease office space for use in our operations. The lease agreements, which expire periodically through August 2032, contain provisions for scheduled periodic rent increases. Net rental expense in connection with these leases totaled $5.0 million in 2015, $3.9 million in 2014 and $3.1 million in 2013, excluding the net rental expense related to discontinued operations. The commitment for non-cancelable operating leases in future years is as follows:
(In thousands) |
2016 | $ | 8,646 |
2017 | 5,922 |
2018 | 2,416 |
2019 | 5,698 |
2020 | 5,663 |
Thereafter | 56,309 |
| $ | 84,654 |
At December 31, 2015 there were no future minimum receipts expected from sublease rental payments.

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