RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS


RISK	MANAGEMENT

The following is a description of the Company’s risk management policies.

Interest Rate Risk

The Company is exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates primarily through senior secured debt. At December 31, 2018, the Company's primary interest rate exposure was to interest rate fluctuations, specifically LIBOR, due to its impact on variable rate borrowings of Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan B under the Senior Secured Credit Agreement and Term Loan A Facility. Given that borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Agreement and Term Loan A Facility are generally based upon LIBOR, this rate will be the Company's primary market risk exposure for the foreseeable future. At December 31, 2018, the Company had variable interest rate long-term debt, which was based on LIBOR, from the outstanding term loans and revolver under its Senior Secured Credit Facility and Term Loan A Facility of $2,075 million, excluding $231 million of securitization obligations.

The Company has interest rate swaps with an aggregate notional value of $1,600 million to manage a portion of the Company's exposure to changes in interest rate associated with variable rate borrowings. The fixed interest rates on the swaps range from 2.07% to 3.11%. Although we have entered into these interest rate swaps, involving the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments, such interest rate swaps do not eliminate interest rate volatility for all of our variable rate indebtedness at December 31, 2018. In addition, the fair value of the interest rate swaps is also subject to movements in LIBOR and will fluctuate in future periods. The Company has recognized an asset of $6 million and a liability of $16 million for the fair value of the interest rate swaps at December 31, 2018. Therefore, an increase in the LIBOR yield curve could increase the fair value of the interest rate swaps and decrease interest expense.

In the normal course of business, the Company borrows funds under its securitization facilities and utilizes such funds to generate assets on which it generally earns interest income. The Company does not believe it is exposed to significant interest rate risk in connection with these activities as the rate it incurs on such borrowings and the rate it earns on such assets are generally based on similar variable indices, thereby providing a natural hedge.

Credit Risk and Exposure

The Company is exposed to counterparty credit risk in the event of nonperformance by counterparties to various agreements and sales transactions. The Company manages such risk by evaluating the financial position and creditworthiness of such counterparties and by requiring collateral in instances in which financing is provided. The Company mitigates counterparty credit risk associated with its derivative contracts by monitoring the amounts at risk with each counterparty to such contracts, periodically evaluating counterparty creditworthiness and financial position, and where possible, dispersing its risk among multiple counterparties.

As of December 31, 2018, there were no significant concentrations of credit risk with any individual counterparty or a group of counterparties. The Company actively monitors the credit risk associated with the Company’s receivables.

Market Risk Exposure

The Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage Services segment, NRT, owns real estate brokerage offices located in and around large metropolitan areas in the U.S. NRT has more offices and realizes more of its revenues in California, Florida and the New York metropolitan area than any other regions of the country. For the year ended December 31, 2018, NRT generated approximately 27% of its revenues from California, 20% from the New York metropolitan area and 9% from Florida. For the year ended December 31, 2017, NRT generated approximately 27% of its revenues from California, 22% from the New York metropolitan area and 9% from Florida. For the year ended December 31, 2016, NRT generated approximately 26% of its revenues from California, 22% from the New York metropolitan area and 9% from Florida.

Derivative Instruments

The Company records derivatives and hedging activities on the balance sheet at their respective fair values. The Company uses foreign currency forward contracts largely to manage its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates associated with its foreign currency denominated receivables and payables. The Company primarily manages its foreign currency exposure to the Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Canadian Dollar. The Company has not elected to utilize hedge accounting for these forward contracts; therefore, any change in fair value is recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. However, the fluctuations in the value of these forward contracts generally offset the impact of changes in the value of the underlying risk that they are intended to economically hedge. As of December 31, 2018, the Company had outstanding foreign currency forward contracts in a liability position with a fair value of less than $1 million and a notional value of $27 million. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had outstanding foreign currency forward contracts in a liability position with a fair value of less than $1 million and a notional value of $25 million.

The Company also enters into interest rate swaps to manage its exposure to changes in interest rates associated with its variable rate borrowings. As of December 31, 2018, the Company had interest rate swaps with an aggregate notional value of $1,600 million to offset the variability in cash flows resulting from the term loan facilities as follows:



Notional Value (in millions)		Commencement Date	Expiration Date
$600		August 2015	August 2020
$450		November 2017	November 2022
$400	(a)	August 2020	August 2025
$150	(a)	November 2022	November 2027

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(a)	During the second quarter of 2018, the Company entered into four new forward starting interest rate swaps, two with a notional value of $125 million and two with a notional value of $150 million.

The swaps help to protect our outstanding variable rate borrowings from future interest rate volatility. The Company has not elected to utilize hedge accounting for these interest rate swaps; therefore, any change in fair value is recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The fair value of derivative instruments was as follows:



Liability Derivatives		Fair Value
Not Designated as Hedging Instruments	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
Interest rate swap contracts	Other non-current assets	$	6	$	—
Interest rate swap contracts	Other current and non-current liabilities	$	16	$	13

The effect of derivative instruments on earnings was as follows:



Derivative Instruments Not Designated as Hedging Instruments	Location of (Gain) or Loss Recognized for Derivative Instruments	(Gain) or Loss Recognized on Derivatives
		Year Ended December 31,
		2018			2017			2016
Interest rate swap contracts	Interest expense	$	4		$	(4	)	$	6
Foreign exchange contracts	Operating expense	(1		)	2			(2		)

Fair Value Measurements

The following tables present the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are categorized using the fair value hierarchy. The fair value hierarchy has three levels based on the reliability of the inputs used to determine fair value.



Level Input:		Input Definitions:
Level I		Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets at the measurement date.

Level II		Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level I that are observable for the asset or liability through corroboration with market data at the measurement date.

Level III		Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

The availability of observable inputs can vary from asset to asset and is affected by a wide variety of factors including, for example, the type of asset, whether the asset is new and not yet established in the marketplace, and other characteristics particular to the transaction. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level III. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.

The fair value of financial instruments is generally determined by reference to quoted market values. In cases where quoted market prices are not available, fair value is based on estimates using present value or other valuation techniques, as appropriate. The fair value of interest rate swaps is determined based upon a discounted cash flow approach.

The Company measures financial instruments at fair value on a recurring basis and recognizes transfers within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the fiscal quarter in which the change in circumstances that caused the transfer occurred.

The following table summarizes fair value measurements by level at December 31, 2018 for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:



	Level I		Level II		Level III		Total
Deferred compensation plan assets (included in other non-current assets)	$	2	$	—	$	—	$	2
Interest rate swaps (included in other non-current assets)	—		6		—		6
Interest rate swaps (included in other non-current liabilities)	—		16		—		16
Contingent consideration for acquisitions (included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities)	—		—		10		10

The following table summarizes fair value measurements by level at December 31, 2017 for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:



	Level I		Level II		Level III		Total
Deferred compensation plan assets (included in other non-current assets)	$	3	$	—	$	—	$	3
Interest rate swaps (included in other current and non-current liabilities)	—		13		—		13
Contingent consideration for acquisitions (included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities)	—		—		34		34

The fair value of the Company’s contingent consideration for acquisitions is measured using a probability weighted-average discount rate to estimate future cash flows based upon the likelihood of achieving future operating results for individual acquisitions. These assumptions are deemed to be unobservable inputs and as such the Company’s contingent consideration is classified within Level III of the valuation hierarchy. The Company reassesses the fair value of the contingent consideration liabilities on a quarterly basis.

The following table presents changes in Level III financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:



	Level III
Fair value of contingent consideration at December 31, 2017	$	34
Additions: contingent consideration related to acquisitions completed during the period	1
Reductions: payments of contingent consideration	(23		)
Changes in fair value (reflected in the Consolidated Statement of Operations)	(2		)
Fair value of contingent consideration at December 31, 2018	$	10

The following table summarizes the principal amount of the Company’s indebtedness compared to the estimated fair value, primarily determined by quoted market values, at:



	December 31, 2018				December 31, 2017
Debt	Principal Amount		Estimated Fair Value (a)		Principal Amount		Estimated Fair Value (a)
Senior Secured Credit Facility:
Revolving Credit Facility	$	270	$	270	$	70	$	70
Term Loan B	1,069		1,010		1,083		1,085
Term Loan A Facility:
Term Loan A	736		707		391		393
Term Loan A-1	—		—		342		343
4.50% Senior Notes	450		447		450		457
5.25% Senior Notes	550		524		550		569
4.875% Senior Notes	500		434		500		495
Securitization obligations	231		231		194		194

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(a)	The fair value of the Company's indebtedness is categorized as Level II.