v3.19.1
Borrowings (Details)
$ in Thousands
 3 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Feb. 13, 2019
USD ($)
Aug. 18, 2017
USD ($)
Mar. 31, 2019
USD ($)
counterparty
Dec. 31, 2018
USD ($)
counterparty
Mar. 31, 2018
USD ($)
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Total secured borrowings     $ 1,949,000 $ 1,911,000  
Concentration Risk, Reverse Repurchase Agreements       21.00%  
Number of Counterparties With Concentration Risk, Reverse Repurchase Agreements | counterparty       1  
Number of Counterparties with Outstanding Reverse Repurchase Agreements | counterparty     24 23  
Investments held with dealers as collateral     $ 1,850,000 $ 1,790,000  
Pledged Financial Instruments, Not Separately Reported, Securities For Repurchase Agreements Unsettled     $ 20,700 $ 86,700 $ 86,700
Repurchase Agreements amount at risk threshold     10.00% 10.00%  
Other secured borrowings     $ 117,315 [1] $ 114,100  
Minimum          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Reverse Repurchase Agreements Maturity     30 days 30 days  
Reverse Repurchase Agreements Remaining Terms     1 day 2 days  
Reverse Repurchase Agreements Interest Rate     0.24% 0.23%  
Maximum          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Reverse Repurchase Agreements Maturity     180 days 180 days  
Reverse Repurchase Agreements Remaining Terms     781 days 871 days  
Reverse Repurchase Agreements Interest Rate     5.85% 6.07%  
Reverse repurchase agreements          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Cash collateral posted for securities sold under agreements to repurchase [2],[3]     $ 13,900 $ 17,000  
Security Owned and Pledged as Collateral, Fair Value     200 200  
Securitized residential mortgage loans          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings     296,400 314,200  
Secured borrowing recourse facility collateralized by unsecured loan portfolio          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Other secured borrowings     $ 11,400 $ 13,200  
Effective interest rate on borrowing     4.75% 4.72%  
Secured borrowing recourse facility collateralized by unsecured loan portfolio | Unsecured loans          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings     $ 20,200 $ 20,300  
Non-QM loan securitization          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Other secured borrowings     $ 282,100 $ 297,900  
Effective interest rate on borrowing     3.75% 3.72%  
Secured borrowing facility collateralized by unsecured loan portfolio          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Other secured borrowings     $ 105,900 $ 101,000  
Effective interest rate on borrowing     4.67% 4.68%  
Secured borrowing facility collateralized by unsecured loan portfolio | Unsecured loans          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings     $ 157,100 $ 149,000  
Senior Notes          
Borrowings [Line Items]          
Debt Instrument, Face Amount $ 86,000 $ 86,000      
Proceeds from Debt, Net of Issuance Costs   $ 84,700      
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage 5.50% 5.25%      
Redemption percentage 100.00% 100.00%      
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date   Sep. 01, 2022      
Effective interest rate on borrowing     5.80% 5.55%  
[1] Ellington Financial Inc.'s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet includes assets and liabilities of variable interest entities it has consolidated. See Note 9 for additional details on Ellington Financial Inc.'s consolidated variable interest entities.
[2] For the purpose of this presentation, for each row the total amount of financial instruments transferred or pledged and cash collateral (received) or pledged may not exceed the applicable gross amount of assets or (liabilities) as presented here. Therefore, the Company has reduced the amount of financial instruments transferred or pledged as collateral related to the Company's reverse repurchase agreements and cash collateral pledged on the Company's financial derivative liabilities. Total financial instruments transferred or pledged as collateral on the Company's reverse repurchase agreements as of December 31, 2018 were $1.79 billion. As of December 31, 2018 total cash collateral on financial derivative assets excludes excess net cash collateral pledged of $0.1 million. As of December 31, 2018 total cash collateral on financial derivative liabilities excludes excess cash collateral pledged of $16.4 million
[3] When collateral is pledged to or pledged by a counterparty, it is often pledged or posted with respect to all positions with such counterparty, and in such cases such collateral cannot be specifically identified as relating to a specific asset or liability. As a result, in preparing the above tables, the Company has made assumptions in allocating pledged or posted collateral among the various rows.