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Background and Business Description | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Background and Business Description | BACKGROUND AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION These unaudited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Ambac’s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain reclassifications may have been made to prior periods’ amounts to conform to the current period’s presentation. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (“Ambac” or the “Company”), headquartered in New York City, is a financial services holding company incorporated in the state of Delaware. Ambac's common stock and warrants are listed on NASDAQ and trade under the symbols “AMBC” and “AMBCW,” respectively. Ambac’s primary goal is to maximize shareholder value through executing the following key strategies:
• | Increasing the value of its investment in Ambac Assurance Corporation ("Ambac Assurance") by actively managing its assets and liabilities with a focus on maximizing risk-adjusted investment portfolio returns and mitigating or remediating losses on poorly performing insured transactions through executing policy commutations, repurchasing liabilities at a discount, pursuing recoveries of losses through litigation and the exercise of contractual and legal rights, restructuring transactions, and other means; and
• | Pursuing new businesses, which may include financial services businesses such as advisory, asset servicing, asset management, and/or insurance.
As part of its asset/liability management strategy, Ambac Assurance is considering the possibility of entering into transactions whereby it would monetize certain assets and/or restructure or exchange its outstanding debt and insurance obligations. Although we are exploring new business opportunities for Ambac, no assurance can be given that we will be able to identify or execute the acquisition or development of any new business. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate or obtain the financial and other resources that may be required to finance the acquisition or development of any new business. Due to these factors, as well as uncertainties relating to the ability of Ambac Assurance to deliver value to Ambac, the value of our securities is speculative. On August 28, 2014, Ambac sold $350,000 face amount of junior surplus notes (the "Junior Surplus Notes") issued to it by the Segregated Account (as defined below), plus accrued but unpaid interest thereon, into a newly formed Trust in exchange for cash of $224,262 and a subordinated owner trust certificate (the "Owner Trust Certificate") issued by the Trust in the face amount of $74,794 The Trust funded the cash portion of its purchase of the Junior Surplus Notes with proceeds of the private placement of $299,175 face amount of Notes to third party investors ("Notes"), which amount equates to approximately 80% of par plus accrued and unpaid interest on the Junior Surplus Notes. The Notes have final maturity of August 28, 2039. Interest on the Notes will accrue at 5.1% per annum and compound annually on June 7th of each year up to and including the maturity date. Payments on the Notes will be made when and to the extent that the Segregated Account makes payments on the Junior Surplus Notes. The Notes must be paid in full before any payments will be made on the Owner Trust Certificate. The Notes and Owner Trust Certificate are non-recourse to Ambac, Ambac Assurance Corporation and the Segregated Account, but will be collateralized by the Junior Surplus Notes. Ambac will record the Owner Trust Certificate as an equity investment and will reflect the activities of the non-consolidated Trust within Net investment income: Other investments on the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income. The execution of Ambac’s strategy to increase the value of its investment in Ambac Assurance is subject to the authority of the Rehabilitator (as defined below) to control the management of the Segregated Account (as defined below). In exercising such authority, the Rehabilitator will act for the benefit of policyholders, and will not take into account the interests of Ambac. Similarly, by operation of the contracts executed in connection with the establishment, and subsequent rehabilitation, of the Segregated Account, the Rehabilitator retains rights to oversee and approve certain actions taken in respect of Ambac Assurance. Ambac Assurance's ability to commute policies or purchase liabilities may also be limited by available liquidity. As a result of uncertainties associated with the aforementioned oversight by the Rehabilitator of the Segregated Account, management has concluded that there is substantial doubt about Ambac's ability to continue as a going concern. Ambac’s financial statements as of and for the nine and twelve month periods ending September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively, are prepared assuming Ambac continues as a going concern and do not include any adjustment that might result from its inability to continue as a going concern. Segregated Account of Ambac Assurance Corporation In March 2010, Ambac Assurance established a Segregated Account pursuant to Wisc. Stat. §611.24 (2) (the “Segregated Account”) to segregate certain segments of Ambac Assurance’s liabilities, and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Wisconsin (“OCI” (which term shall be understood to refer to such office as regulator of Ambac Assurance and to refer to the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Wisconsin as rehabilitator of the Segregated Account (the “Rehabilitator”), as the context requires)) commenced rehabilitation proceedings in the Dane County, Wisconsin Circuit Court (the “Rehabilitation Court”) with respect to the Segregated Account (the “Segregated Account Rehabilitation Proceedings”) in order to permit OCI to facilitate an orderly run-off and/or settlement of the liabilities allocated to the Segregated Account pursuant to the provisions of the Wisconsin Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act. Net par exposure as of September 30, 2014 for policies allocated to the Segregated Account was $19,650,823. In 2010, Ambac Assurance issued a $2,000,000 secured note due in 2050 (the “Secured Note”) to the Segregated Account. Interest on the Secured Note accrued at the rate of 4.5% per annum, and accrued interest was capitalized and added to outstanding principal quarterly. The Segregated Account had the ability to demand payment under the Secured Note from time to time to pay claims and other liabilities. By June 30, 2014, the Secured Note, including capitalized interest since the date of issuance, was fully drawn, resulting in a balance of $0. Following the exhaustion of the Secured Note, the Segregated Account has the ability to demand payment from time to time under an aggregate excess of loss reinsurance agreement provided by Ambac Assurance (the “Reinsurance Agreement”) to pay claims and other liabilities. In addition, certain operating and administrative costs and expenses of the Segregated Account are now reimbursable by Ambac Assurance pursuant to the cooperation agreement between the Segregated Account and Ambac Assurance dated as of March 24, 2010, as amended (the “Cooperation Agreement”). Ambac Assurance is not obligated to make payments under the Reinsurance Agreement or Cooperation Agreement if its surplus as regards to policyholders is less than $100,000 (the “Minimum Surplus Amount”). As long as the surplus as regards to policyholders is not less than the Minimum Surplus Amount, payments by Ambac Assurance to the Segregated Account under the Reinsurance Agreement and Cooperation Agreement are not capped. At September 30, 2014, Ambac Assurance’s surplus as regards to policyholders of $897,692 exceeded the Minimum Surplus Amount. In the event that Ambac Assurance does not maintain surplus in excess of the Minimum Surplus Amount, the Segregated Account would experience a shortfall in funds available to pay its liabilities. Any such shortfall would be a consideration for the Rehabilitator in the determination of whether any changes to the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan (as defined below) and/or the amount of partial policy claim payments are necessary or appropriate or whether to institute general rehabilitation proceedings against Ambac Assurance. On October 8, 2010, OCI filed a plan of rehabilitation for the Segregated Account (the “Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan”) in the Rehabilitation Court. The Rehabilitation Court confirmed the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan on January 24, 2011, although it did not become effective at such time. The confirmed Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan also made permanent the injunctions issued by the Rehabilitation Court on March 24, 2010. In 2013 the Rehabilitator received approval from the Rehabilitation Court to make cash payments in excess of 25% of the permitted policy claim amount (“Supplemental Payments”) with respect to certain policies so that cash flow in the related securitization trusts that would have been available to reimburse Ambac Assurance had it paid claims in full under such policies is not diverted to uninsured holders who would not have received such cash flow if claims had been paid in full. As a result, the Segregated Account began making Supplemental Payments on certain SP Policies in August 2013. In the first quarter of 2014, the Rehabilitator also received approval from the Rehabilitation Court for the Rehabilitator and the Segregated Account to disburse settlement proceeds from RMBS remediation claims as permitted policy claim payments, with such distributions to include (i) paying claims payments in excess of the then applicable claims cash payment percentage, and/or (ii) paying all or portions of unpaid permitted policy claims (such policy claim payments, “Special Policy Payments”). On June 11, 2014, the Rehabilitation Court approved amendments to the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan that had been proposed by the Rehabilitator, and the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan, as amended, became effective on June 12, 2014. The amendments to the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan primarily modified the mechanism for handling claims. Instead of the combination of cash payments and interest-bearing surplus notes originally contemplated by the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan, under the amended Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan holders of permitted policy claims have received and will receive an initial interim cash payment for a portion of such policy claim (“Interim Payment”), together with the right to receive a deferred payment equal to the balance of the unpaid policy claim, as may be adjusted from time to time pursuant to the terms of the amended Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan (“Deferred Amount”). Payments of Deferred Amounts will be made at such times as the Rehabilitator deems appropriate in his sole discretion. The Segregated Account will also establish junior deferred amounts (“Junior Deferred Amounts”) with respect to permitted general claims instead of issuing junior surplus notes to the holders of such claims as contemplated under the original Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan. The amendments to the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan also require that Deferred Amounts and Junior Deferred Amounts will generally accrue and compound interest at an annual effective rate of 5.1%. However, in the case of insured bonds whose outstanding principal balance is not reduced by the unpaid portion of permitted policy claims (such bonds, “Undercollateralized Bonds”), the 5.1% effective annual interest rate on the Deferred Amount will be reduced by the bond interest rate applicable to such Undercollateralized Bonds. In the case of permitted policy claims relating to transactions that pay monthly, interest will begin to accrue on Deferred Amounts from the first distribution date (under the transaction documents for the relevant bond) after the date on which the Interim Payment in respect of such permitted policy claim was made. For permitted policy claims relating to transactions that do not pay monthly, interest will begin to accrue on Deferred Amounts from the first Payment Date (as defined in the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan, as amended) to occur after the date on which the Interim Payment in respect of such permitted policy claim was made. Following the effective date of the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan, as amended, the percentage of the initial cash Interim Payment for permitted policy claims increased from 25% to 45% with effect from July 21, 2014. As with previously permitted policy claims, the remaining portion of the unpaid permitted policy claims (in this case, 55%) will remain outstanding as Deferred Amounts and, subject to the adjustment for Undercollateralized Bonds, will accrue interest at 5.1% per annum. These Deferred Amounts, together with interest thereon, may be paid from time to time in the future at the sole discretion of the Rehabilitator. The Rehabilitator has also confirmed that a portion of Deferred Amounts outstanding as of July 20, 2014 (the “Reconciliation Date”) (together with interest thereon) will be paid, if still outstanding, on December 22, 2014 (the "Deferred Payment Date") in accordance with the Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan, as amended, so that those policyholders that received 25% (and not 45%) cash Interim Payments in respect of their permitted policy claims will generally be entitled to receive equalizing payments in cash of 26.67% of their Deferred Amounts (including accrued interest thereon) outstanding as of the Reconciliation Date. Policyholders will be entitled to receive an equalizing payment of their Deferred Amounts equal to the lower of (i) their outstanding Deferred Amounts on December 22, 2014, and (ii) 26.67% of their Deferred Amounts as of the Reconciliation Date, even if they have received a Supplemental Payment (as defined in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements located in Part II, Item 8 of Ambac's 2013 Form 10-K) and/or a Special Policy Payment (as defined in Note 13). The aggregate amount of equalizing payments for Deferred Amounts is estimated to be approximately $1,137,500. In addition, the Segregated Account will be required, pursuant to the terms of the amended Segregated Account Rehabilitation Plan, to early redeem a portion of its surplus notes (excluding junior surplus notes) on or about the Deferred Payment Date. The redemption amount of the Segregated Account surplus notes will be equal to 26.67% of the sum of par and accrued interest on such Segregated Account surplus notes, in each case, outstanding as at the Reconciliation Date. P ursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, dated as of June 7, 2010 (the “Settlement Agreement”), by and among Ambac Assurance, Ambac Credit Products LLC (“ACP”), Ambac and counterparties to credit default swaps with ACP that were guaranteed by Ambac Assurance, Ambac Assurance will be required to make a proportionate redemption of its surplus notes when the Segregated Account redeems Segregated Account surplus notes (excluding junior surplus notes). Therefore, if the equalizing 26.67% payment of the Deferred Amounts specified above is made, the Segregated Account and Ambac Assurance will be required to make redemptions of surplus notes (excluding any junior surplus notes) on or about the Deferred Payment Date in an amount equal to 26.67% of the sum of par and accrued interest outstanding on such surplus notes as at the Reconciliation Date, which is estimated to be approximately $413,587 in respect of those surplus notes owned by third parties. Ambac Assurance, for and on behalf of itself and as the management services provider for the Segregated Account, sought and received the approval of the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Wisconsin to effect these redemptions of surplus notes on November 20, 2014, rather than the Deferred Payment Date, to save interest expense. Such approval was granted on October 13, 2014.

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