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Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Fair Value Hierarchy) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | Dec. 31, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2018
--- | --- | ---
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | $ 3,983,519 | $ 6,509,333
Residential whole loans, at fair value | [1] | 1,381,583 | 1,665,978
Total assets carried at fair value |  | 6,522,565 | 8,713,810
Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 1,664,582 | 2,698,213
Non-Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 2,063,529 | 3,318,299
CRT securities |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 255,408 | 492,821
Residential whole loans, at fair value |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Residential whole loans, at fair value |  | 1,381,583 | 1,665,978
Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  | 1,157,463 | 538,499
Level 1 |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Total assets carried at fair value |  | 0 | 0
Level 1 | Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 0 | 0
Level 1 | Non-Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 0 | 0
Level 1 | CRT securities |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 0 | 0
Level 1 | Residential whole loans, at fair value |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Residential whole loans, at fair value |  | 0 | 0
Level 1 | Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  | 0 | 0
Level 2 |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Total assets carried at fair value |  | 5,140,982 | 6,509,333
Level 2 | Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 1,664,582 | 2,698,213
Level 2 | Non-Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 2,063,529 | 3,318,299
Level 2 | CRT securities |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 255,408 | 492,821
Level 2 | Residential whole loans, at fair value |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Residential whole loans, at fair value |  | 0 | 0
Level 2 | Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  | 1,157,463 | 0
Level 3 |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Total assets carried at fair value |  | 1,381,583 | 2,204,477
Level 3 | Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 0 | 0
Level 3 | Non-Agency MBS |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 0 | 0
Level 3 | CRT securities |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Available-for-sale Securities |  | 0 | 0
Level 3 | Residential whole loans, at fair value |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Residential whole loans, at fair value |  | 1,381,583 | 1,665,978
Level 3 | Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  |  |
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items] |  |  |
Term notes backed by MSR-related collateral |  | $ 0 | $ 538,499
[1] | Includes approximately $186.4 million and $209.4 million of Residential whole loans, at carrying value and $567.4 million and $694.7 million of Residential whole loans, at fair value transferred to consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Such assets can be used only to settle the obligations of each respective VIE.

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- Definition The fair value as of the balance sheet date of firm holdings in mortgages, mortgage backed securities (investment instruments that represent ownership of an undivided interest in a group of mortgages, where principal and interest from the individual mortgages are used to pay investors' principal and interest on the mortgage backed security) and asset-backed securities that are primarily paid from the cash flows of a discrete pool of receivables or other financial assets (such as credit-card receivables), either fixed or revolving, that by their terms convert into cash within a finite time period. Includes both pledged (to counterparties as collateral for financing transactions) and unpledged holdings. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 940 -SubTopic 320 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35711157&loc=d3e42546-110969 + Details
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