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Variable Interest Entities | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Variable Interest Entities | Variable Interest Entities A VIE is an entity that lacks sufficient equity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or whose equity holders lack the characteristics of a controlling financial interest. The following discusses the Company's involvement with VIEs where the Company is the primary beneficiary and consolidates the VIEs or where the Company is not the primary beneficiary and does not consolidate the VIEs. Operating Subsidiary The Company's operating subsidiary, OP, is a limited liability company that has governing provisions that are the functional equivalent of a limited partnership. The Company holds the majority of membership interest in OP, acts as the managing member of OP and exercises full responsibility, discretion and control over the day-to-day management of OP. The noncontrolling interests in OP do not have substantive liquidation rights, substantive kick-out rights without cause, or substantive participating rights that could be exercised by a simple majority of noncontrolling interest members (including by such a member unilaterally). The absence of such rights, which represent voting rights in a limited partnership equivalent structure, would render OP to be a VIE. The Company, as managing member, has the power to direct the core activities of OP that most significantly affect OP's performance, and through its majority interest in OP, has both the right to receive benefits from and the obligation to absorb losses of OP. Accordingly, the Company is the primary beneficiary of OP and consolidates OP. As the Company conducts its business and holds its assets and liabilities through OP, the total assets and liabilities of OP represent substantially all of the total consolidated assets and liabilities of the Company. Securitizations The Company previously securitized loans receivable and CRE debt securities using VIEs. Upon securitization, the Company had retained beneficial interests in the securitization vehicles, usually in the form of equity tranches or subordinate securities. The Company also acquired securities issued by securitization trusts that are VIEs. The securitization vehicles were structured as pass-through entities that receive principal and interest on the underlying mortgage loans and debt securities and distribute those payments to the holders of the notes, certificates or bonds issued by the securitization vehicles. The loans and debt securities were transferred into securitization vehicles such that these assets are restricted and legally isolated from the creditors of the Company, and therefore are not available to satisfy the Company's obligations but only the obligations of the securitization vehicles. The obligations of the securitization vehicles did not have any recourse to the general credit of the Company and its other subsidiaries. Consolidated Securitizations—Prior to June 30, 2018, the Company consolidated securitization trusts for which it had a retained interest and for which it acted as special servicer or collateral manager or otherwise, its interest in the trust may have become the controlling class or directing holder. As special servicer, the Company had the power to direct activities during the loan workout process on defaulted and delinquent loans. As collateral manager of certain N-Star CDOs, the Company had the power to invest in additional or replacement collateral during the investment period and subsequent to the investment period, had the power to identify an asset as distressed or credit risk and sell certain distressed collateral. As directing holder or controlling class representative, the Company had the right to appoint or remove the third party special servicer. As a result, the Company's role as special servicer, collateral manager or as controlling class or directing holder provided the Company with the ability to direct activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the securitization vehicles, and together with the interests previously retained by the Company in the securitization vehicles, the Company was deemed to be the primary beneficiary and consolidated these securitization vehicles. Accordingly, these securitizations did not qualify as sale transactions and were accounted for as secured financing with the underlying mortgage loans and debt securities pledged as collateral. As of June 30, 2018, the Company no longer has any consolidated securitization trusts. The Company contributed its interests in three consolidated securitization trusts to Colony Credit upon closing of the Combination and sold its interests in two consolidated securitization trusts to third parties in the second quarter of 2018, resulting in a deconsolidation of these securitization trusts. The Company has retained its role as special servicer or as collateral manager in these securitization trusts. However, the Company may be removed as special servicer by the controlling class interest holders and may be removed as collateral manager through a right of removal provided to the buyer. Additionally, as of June 30, 2018, the underlying assets of the Company's remaining consolidated securitization trust has been liquidated. The Company’s exposure to the obligations of its previously consolidated securitization vehicles was generally limited to its investment in these entities, which was $490.1 million at December 31, 2017. The Company was not obligated to provide any financial support to these securitization vehicles, although it could, in its sole discretion, provide support such as protective and other advances as it deemed appropriate. The Company did not provide any such financial support to these securitization vehicles in 2018 prior to their deconsolidation nor in 2017. Unconsolidated Securitizations—The Company does not consolidate the assets and liabilities of CDOs in which the Company has an interest but does not retain the collateral management function. NRF had previously delegated the collateral management rights for certain sponsored N-Star CDOs and third party-sponsored CDOs to a third party collateral manager or collateral manager delegate who is entitled to a percentage of the senior and subordinate collateral management fees. The Company continues to receive fees as named collateral manager or collateral manager delegate and retained administrative responsibilities. The Company determined that the fees paid to the third party collateral manager or collateral manager delegate represent a variable interest in the CDOs and that the third party is acting as a principal. The Company concluded that it does not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of these CDOs, which include but are not limited to, the ability to sell distressed collateral, and therefore the Company is not the primary beneficiary of such CDOs and does not consolidate these CDOs. The Company’s exposure to loss is limited to its investment in these unconsolidated CDOs, comprising CDO equity and CDO bonds, which aggregate to $67.5 million at December 31, 2018 and $102.2 million at December 31, 2017. Company-Sponsored Private Funds The Company sponsors private funds and other investment vehicles as general partner for the purpose of providing investment management services in exchange for management fees and performance-based fees. These private funds are established as limited partnerships or equivalent structures. Limited partners of the private funds do not have either substantive liquidation rights, or substantive kick-out rights without cause, or substantive participating rights that could be exercised by a simple majority of limited partners or by a single limited partner. Accordingly, the absence of such rights, which represent voting rights in a limited partnership, results in the private funds being considered VIEs. The nature of the Company's involvement with its sponsored funds comprise fee arrangements and equity interests. The fee arrangements are commensurate with the level of management services provided by the Company, and contain terms and conditions that are customary to similar at-market fee arrangements. Consolidated Company-Sponsored Private Fund—The Company currently consolidates a sponsored private fund where it has more than insignificant equity interest in the fund as general partner during the early stages of the fund while additional third party capital is being raised. As a result, the Company is considered to be acting in the capacity of a principal of the sponsored private fund and is therefore the primary beneficiary of the fund. The Company’s exposure is limited to the value of its outstanding investment in the consolidated private fund of $13.2 million at December 31, 2018 and $10.2 million at December 31, 2017. The Company, as general partner, is not obligated to provide any financial support to the consolidated private fund. Unconsolidated Company-Sponsored Private Funds—The Company does not consolidate its sponsored private funds where it has insignificant direct equity interests or capital commitments to these funds as general partner. The Company may invest alongside certain of its sponsored private funds through joint ventures between the Company and these funds, or the Company may have capital commitments to its sponsored private funds that are satisfied directly through the co-investment joint ventures as an affiliate of the general partner. In these instances, the co-investment joint ventures are consolidated by the Company. As the Company's direct equity interests in its sponsored private funds as general partner absorb insignificant variability, the Company is considered to be acting in the capacity of an agent of these funds and is therefore not the primary beneficiary of these funds. The Company accounts for its equity interests in unconsolidated sponsored private funds under the equity method. The Company's maximum exposure to loss is limited to the carrying value of its investment in the unconsolidated sponsored private funds, totaling $117.3 million at December 31, 2018 and $6.9 million at December 31, 2017, included within investments in unconsolidated ventures on the consolidated balance sheets. Trusts The Company, through the Merger, acquired the Trusts, wholly-owned subsidiaries of NRF formed as statutory trusts. The Trusts issued preferred securities in private placement offerings, and used the proceeds to purchase junior subordinated notes to evidence loans made to NRF (Note 12). The Company owns all of the common stock of the Trusts but does not consolidate the Trusts as the holders of the preferred securities issued by the Trusts are the primary beneficiaries of the Trusts. The Company accounts for its interest in the Trusts under the equity method and its maximum exposure to loss is limited to its investment carrying value of $3.7 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017, recorded in investments in unconsolidated ventures on the consolidated balance sheet. The junior subordinated notes are recorded as debt on the Company's consolidated balance sheet.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for a variable interest entity (VIE), including but not limited to, judgments and assumptions in determining whether to consolidate and in identifying the primary beneficiary, gain (loss) recognized on the initial consolidation of the VIE, terms of arrangements, amounts and classification of the VIE's assets and liabilities, and the entity's maximum exposure to loss. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2197479 + Details
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