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Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts (Tables) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2016
Insurance [Line Items] |
Schedule of Loss And Loss Expense Reserves And Subrogation Recoverable Table [Table Text Block] | Below are the components of the Loss and loss expense reserves liability and the Subrogation recoverable asset at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015:
| Unpaid Claims |  | Present Value of Expected Net Cash Flows |  |  |  |
Balance Sheet Line Item | Claims |  | Accrued Interest |  | Claims and Loss Expenses |  | Recoveries |  | Unearned Premium Revenue |  | Gross Loss and Loss Expense Reserves
March 31, 2016: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 2,348,259 |  |  | $ | 417,508 |  |  | $ | 3,090,003 |  |  | $ | (1,384,282 | ) |  | $ | (167,941 | ) |  | $ | 4,303,547 |
Subrogation recoverable | 635,735 |  |  | 115,320 |  |  | 200,258 |  |  | (1,611,784 | ) |  | — |  |  | (660,471 | )
Totals | $ | 2,983,994 |  |  | $ | 532,828 |  |  | $ | 3,290,261 |  |  | $ | (2,996,066 | ) |  | $ | (167,941 | ) |  | $ | 3,643,076 |
December 31, 2015: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 2,138,952 |  |  | $ | 349,668 |  |  | $ | 3,265,349 |  |  | $ | (1,476,276 | ) |  | $ | (189,587 | ) |  | $ | 4,088,106 |
Subrogation recoverable | 828,802 |  |  | 141,349 |  |  | 207,674 |  |  | (2,407,118 | ) |  | — |  |  | (1,229,293 | )
Totals | $ | 2,967,754 |  |  | $ | 491,017 |  |  | $ | 3,473,023 |  |  | $ | (3,883,394 | ) |  | $ | (189,587 | ) |  | $ | 2,858,813 |
Summary of Gross Premium Receivable Roll-Forward (Direct and Assumed Contracts) | Below is the gross premium receivable roll-forward for the affected periods:
|  | Three Months Ended March 31,
|  | 2016 |  | 2015
Beginning premium receivable |  | $ | 831,575 |  |  | $ | 1,000,607 |
Premium receipts |  | (21,377 | ) |  | (27,453 | )
Adjustments for changes in expected and contractual cash flows |  | (35,029 | ) |  | (5,918 | )
Accretion of premium receivable discount |  | 5,123 |  |  | 6,282 |
Changes to uncollectable premiums |  | 5,126 |  |  | 698 |
Other adjustments (including foreign exchange) |  | (3,340 | ) |  | (22,217 | )
Ending premium receivable |  | $ | 782,078 |  |  | $ | 951,999 |
Effect of Reinsurance on Premiums Written and Earned | The effect of reinsurance on premiums written and earned for the respective periods was as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 |  |  | Three Months Ended March 31, 2015
| Written |  | Earned |  |  | Written |  | Earned
Direct | $ | (24,780 | ) |  | $ | 56,990 |  |  |  | $ | 1,062 |  |  | $ | 71,649 |
Assumed | — |  |  | 21 |  |  |  | — |  |  | 22 |
Ceded | (6,045 | ) |  | 4,211 |  |  |  | 365 |  |  | 5,953 |
Net premiums | $ | (18,735 | ) |  | $ | 52,800 |  |  |  | $ | 697 |  |  | $ | 65,718 |
Summarized Future Gross Undiscounted Premiums Expected to be Collected and Future Expected Premiums Earned, Net of Reinsurance | The table below summarizes the future gross undiscounted premiums to be collected and future premiums earned, net of reinsurance at March 31, 2016:
| Future premiums to be collected (1) |  | Future premiums to be earned net of reinsurance (1)
Three months ended: |  |  |
June 30, 2016 | $ | 19,259 |  |  | $ | 31,587 |
September 30, 2016 | 18,942 |  |  | 29,248 |
December 31, 2016 | 19,299 |  |  | 27,519 |
Twelve months ended: |  |  |
December 31, 2017 | 72,081 |  |  | 96,126 |
December 31, 2018 | 67,527 |  |  | 84,162 |
December 31, 2019 | 63,878 |  |  | 77,934 |
December 31, 2020 | 60,815 |  |  | 73,366 |
Five years ended: |  |  |
December 31, 2025 | 249,945 |  |  | 294,692 |
December 31, 2030 | 203,751 |  |  | 203,435 |
December 31, 2035 | 131,456 |  |  | 119,037 |
December 31, 2040 | 44,366 |  |  | 42,309 |
December 31, 2045 | 20,266 |  |  | 17,763 |
December 31, 2050 | 7,247 |  |  | 7,818 |
December 31, 2055 | 601 |  |  | 1,298 |
Total | $ | 979,433 |  |  | $ | 1,106,294 |
(1) | Future premiums to be collected is undiscounted and are used to derive the discounted premium receivable asset recorded on Ambac's balance sheet. Future premiums to be earned, net of reinsurance relate to the unearned premium liability and deferred ceded premium asset recorded on Ambac’s balance sheet. The use of contractual lives for many bond types which do not have homogeneous pools of underlying collateral is required in the calculation of the premium receivable, as further described in Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Principles in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Ambac's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. This results in a different premium receivable balance than if expected lives were considered. If installment paying policies are retired or prepay early, premiums reflected in the premium receivable asset and amounts reported in the above table for such policies may not be collected. Future premiums to be earned also considers the use of contractual lives for many bond types which do not have homogeneous pools of underlying collateral, which may result in higher unearned premium than if expected lives were considered. If those bonds types are retired early, premium earnings may be negative in the period of call or refinancing.
Summary of Loss Reserve Roll-Forward, Net of Subrogation Recoverable and Reinsurance | Below is the loss and loss expense reserve roll-forward, net of subrogation recoverable and reinsurance, for the affected periods:
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2016 |  | 2015
Beginning gross loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 2,858,813 |  |  | $ | 3,798,733 |
Less reinsurance on loss and loss expense reserves | 44,059 |  |  | 100,355 |
Beginning balance of net loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 2,814,754 |  |  | $ | 3,698,378 |
Changes in the loss and loss expense reserves due to: |  |  |
Current year: |  |  |
Establishment of new loss and loss expense reserves, gross of RMBS subrogation and net of reinsurance | 768 |  |  | 1 |
Claim and loss expense (payments) recoveries, net of subrogation and reinsurance | — |  |  | — |
Total current year | 768 |  |  | 1 |
Prior years: |  |  |
Change in previously established loss and loss expense reserves, gross of RMBS subrogation and net of reinsurance | (95,811 | ) |  | (132,639 | )
Claim and loss expense (payments) recoveries, net of subrogation and reinsurance | 916,206 |  |  | (104,202 | )
(Increase) decrease in previously established RMBS subrogation recoveries, net of reinsurance | (20,319 | ) |  | (44,195 | )
Total prior years | 800,076 |  |  | (281,036 | )
Net change in net loss and loss expense reserves | 800,844 |  |  | (281,035 | )
Ending net loss and loss expense reserves | 3,615,598 |  |  | 3,417,343 |
Add reinsurance on loss and loss expense reserves (1) | 27,478 |  |  | 74,519 |
Ending gross loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 3,643,076 |  |  | $ | 3,491,862 |
(1) | Reinsurance recoverable reported on the Balance Sheet also includes reinsurance recoverables (payables) of previously presented loss and loss expenses of $(162) and $4,789 as of March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Summary of Information Related to Policies Currently Included in Ambac's Loss Reserves or Subrogation Recoverable | The tables below summarize information related to policies currently included in Ambac’s loss and loss expense reserves or subrogation recoverable at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Gross par exposures include capital appreciation bonds which are reported at the par amount at the time of issuance of the insurance policy. The weighted average risk-free rate used to discount loss reserves at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 was 2.0% and 2.4%, respectively.
Surveillance Categories as of March 31, 2016
| I/SL |  | IA |  | II |  | III |  | IV |  | V |  | Total
Number of policies | 40 |  |  | 14 |  |  | 26 |  |  | 59 |  |  | 166 |  |  | 3 |  |  | 308 |
Remaining weighted-average contract period (in years) | 10 |  |  | 17 |  |  | 26 |  |  | 17 |  |  | 15 |  |  | 6 |  |  | 16 |
Gross insured contractual payments outstanding: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Principal | $ | 2,217,143 |  |  | $ | 262,318 |  |  | $ | 1,962,283 |  |  | $ | 2,440,917 |  |  | $ | 8,662,183 |  |  | $ | 54,590 |  |  | $ | 15,599,434 |
Interest | 962,608 |  |  | 107,335 |  |  | 6,835,208 |  |  | 1,619,094 |  |  | 2,342,277 |  |  | 16,790 |  |  | 11,883,312 |
Total | $ | 3,179,751 |  |  | $ | 369,653 |  |  | $ | 8,797,491 |  |  | $ | 4,060,011 |  |  | $ | 11,004,460 |  |  | $ | 71,380 |  |  | $ | 27,482,746 |
Gross undiscounted claim liability (1) | $ | 7,717 |  |  | $ | 5,630 |  |  | $ | 165,930 |  |  | $ | 1,259,532 |  |  | $ | 6,254,134 |  |  | $ | 71,379 |  |  | $ | 7,764,322 |
Discount, gross claim liability | (534 | ) |  | (502 | ) |  | (83,763 | ) |  | (291,056 | ) |  | (645,766 | ) |  | (4,876 | ) |  | (1,026,497 | )
Gross claim liability before all subrogation and before reinsurance | $ | 7,183 |  |  | $ | 5,128 |  |  | $ | 82,167 |  |  | $ | 968,476 |  |  | $ | 5,608,368 |  |  | $ | 66,503 |  |  | $ | 6,737,825 |
Less: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Gross RMBS subrogation (2) | — |  |  | — |  |  | (1,203 | ) |  | — |  |  | (1,860,701 | ) |  | — |  |  | (1,861,904 | )
Discount, RMBS subrogation | — |  |  | — |  |  | 4 |  |  | — |  |  | 6,827 |  |  | — |  |  | 6,831 |
Discounted RMBS subrogation, before reinsurance | — |  |  | — |  |  | (1,199 | ) |  | — |  |  | (1,853,874 | ) |  | — |  |  | (1,855,073 | )
Less: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Gross other subrogation (3) | — |  |  | — |  |  | (10,907 | ) |  | (502,340 | ) |  | (882,664 | ) |  | (13,098 | ) |  | (1,409,009 | )
Discount, other subrogation | — |  |  | — |  |  | 2,731 |  |  | 159,858 |  |  | 102,074 |  |  | 3,353 |  |  | 268,016 |
Discounted other subrogation, before reinsurance | — |  |  | — |  |  | (8,176 | ) |  | (342,482 | ) |  | (780,590 | ) |  | (9,745 | ) |  | (1,140,993 | )
Gross claim liability, net of all subrogation and discounts, before reinsurance | $ | 7,183 |  |  | $ | 5,128 |  |  | $ | 72,792 |  |  | $ | 625,994 |  |  | $ | 2,973,904 |  |  | $ | 56,758 |  |  | $ | 3,741,759 |
Less: Unearned premium revenue | (4,411 | ) |  | (1,767 | ) |  | (48,102 | ) |  | (43,791 | ) |  | (69,434 | ) |  | (436 | ) |  | (167,941 | )
Plus: Loss expense reserves | 1,907 |  |  | 64 |  |  | 275 |  |  | 13,486 |  |  | 53,526 |  |  | — |  |  | 69,258 |
Gross loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 4,679 |  |  | $ | 3,425 |  |  | $ | 24,965 |  |  | $ | 595,689 |  |  | $ | 2,957,996 |  |  | $ | 56,322 |  |  | $ | 3,643,076 |
Reinsurance recoverable reported on Balance Sheet (4) | $ | 722 |  |  | $ | 920 |  |  | $ | 104 |  |  | $ | 40,904 |  |  | $ | (15,334 | ) |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 27,316 |
(1) | Gross undiscounted claim liability includes unpaid claims, including accrued interest on Deferred Amounts, on policies allocated to the Segregated Account and Ambac's estimate of expected future claims.
(2) | RMBS subrogation represents Ambac’s estimate of subrogation recoveries from RMBS transaction sponsors for representation and warranty ("R&W") breaches.
(3) | Other subrogation primarily represents subrogation related to excess spread or other contractual cash flows on public finance and structured finance transactions, including RMBS.
(4) | Reinsurance recoverable reported on Balance Sheet includes reinsurance recoverables of $27,478 related to future loss and loss expenses and $(162) related to presented loss and loss expenses.
Surveillance Categories as of December 31, 2015
| I/SL |  | IA |  | II |  | III |  | IV |  | V |  | Total
Number of policies | 33 |  |  | 14 |  |  | 23 |  |  | 63 |  |  | 157 |  |  | 3 |  |  | 293 |
Remaining weighted-average contract period (in years) | 9 |  |  | 17 |  |  | 26 |  |  | 19 |  |  | 13 |  |  | 6 |  |  | 15 |
Gross insured contractual payments outstanding: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Principal | $ | 1,830,549 |  |  | $ | 263,288 |  |  | $ | 1,912,237 |  |  | $ | 2,972,615 |  |  | $ | 8,942,730 |  |  | $ | 54,590 |  |  | $ | 15,976,009 |
Interest | 724,940 |  |  | 107,624 |  |  | 6,834,538 |  |  | 1,792,525 |  |  | 2,391,523 |  |  | 16,791 |  |  | 11,867,941 |
Total | $ | 2,555,489 |  |  | $ | 370,912 |  |  | $ | 8,746,775 |  |  | $ | 4,765,140 |  |  | $ | 11,334,253 |  |  | $ | 71,381 |  |  | $ | 27,843,950 |
Gross undiscounted claim liability (1) | $ | 6,188 |  |  | $ | 5,632 |  |  | $ | 173,930 |  |  | $ | 1,595,525 |  |  | $ | 6,339,537 |  |  | $ | 71,381 |  |  | $ | 8,192,193 |
Discount, gross claim liability | (515 | ) |  | (652 | ) |  | (96,218 | ) |  | (458,805 | ) |  | (770,694 | ) |  | (6,779 | ) |  | (1,333,663 | )
Gross claim liability before all subrogation and before reinsurance | $ | 5,673 |  |  | $ | 4,980 |  |  | $ | 77,712 |  |  | $ | 1,136,720 |  |  | $ | 5,568,843 |  |  | $ | 64,602 |  |  | $ | 6,858,530 |
Less: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Gross RMBS subrogation (2) | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (2,841,291 | ) |  | — |  |  | (2,841,291 | )
Discount, RMBS subrogation | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 11,716 |  |  | — |  |  | 11,716 |
Discounted RMBS subrogation, before reinsurance | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (2,829,575 | ) |  | — |  |  | (2,829,575 | )
Less: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Gross other subrogation (3) | — |  |  | — |  |  | (12,937 | ) |  | (526,957 | ) |  | (835,078 | ) |  | (13,098 | ) |  | (1,388,070 | )
Discount, other subrogation | — |  |  | — |  |  | 3,961 |  |  | 198,643 |  |  | 127,669 |  |  | 3,978 |  |  | 334,251 |
Discounted other subrogation, before reinsurance | — |  |  | — |  |  | (8,976 | ) |  | (328,314 | ) |  | (707,409 | ) |  | (9,120 | ) |  | (1,053,819 | )
Gross claim liability, net of all subrogation and discounts, before reinsurance | $ | 5,673 |  |  | $ | 4,980 |  |  | $ | 68,736 |  |  | $ | 808,406 |  |  | $ | 2,031,859 |  |  | $ | 55,482 |  |  | $ | 2,975,136 |
Less: Unearned premium revenue | (3,360 | ) |  | (1,796 | ) |  | (48,871 | ) |  | (63,257 | ) |  | (71,848 | ) |  | (455 | ) |  | (189,587 | )
Plus: Loss expense reserves | — |  |  | 66 |  |  | 629 |  |  | 15,090 |  |  | 57,479 |  |  | — |  |  | 73,264 |
Gross loss and loss expense reserves | $ | 2,313 |  |  | $ | 3,250 |  |  | $ | 20,494 |  |  | $ | 760,239 |  |  | $ | 2,017,490 |  |  | $ | 55,027 |  |  | $ | 2,858,813 |
Reinsurance recoverable reported on Balance Sheet (4) | $ | 642 |  |  | $ | 880 |  |  | $ | 85 |  |  | $ | 59,503 |  |  | $ | (17,111 | ) |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 43,999 |
(1) | Gross undiscounted claim liability includes unpaid claims, including accrued interest on Deferred Amounts, on policies allocated to the Segregated Account and Ambac's estimate of expected future claims.
(2) | RMBS subrogation represents Ambac’s estimate of subrogation recoveries from RMBS transaction sponsors for R&W breaches.
(3) | Other subrogation primarily represents subrogation related to excess spread or other contractual cash flows on public finance and structured finance transactions, including RMBS.
(4) | Reinsurance recoverable reported on Balance Sheet includes reinsurance recoverables of $44,059 related to future loss and loss expenses and $(60) related to presented loss and loss expenses.
Summary of Balance of Subrogation Recoveries and Related Claim Liabilities, by Estimation Approach | The balance of RMBS subrogation recoveries and the related loss reserves, using the Random Sample estimation approach, at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, are as follows:
Random Sample Approach | Gross loss reserves before subrogation recoveries (1) |  | Subrogation recoveries (2)(3) |  | Gross loss reserves after subrogation recoveries
At March 31, 2016 | $ | 1,298,065 |  |  | $ | (1,855,073 | ) |  | $ | (557,008 | )
At December 31, 2015 | $ | 1,850,804 |  |  | $ | (2,829,575 | ) |  | $ | (978,771 | )
(1) | Includes unpaid RMBS claims, including accrued interest on Deferred Amounts, on policies allocated to the Segregated Account.
(2) | The amount of recorded subrogation recoveries related to each securitization is limited to ever-to-date paid and unpaid losses plus the present value of expected cash flows for each policy. To the extent losses have been paid but not yet fully recovered, the recorded amount of RMBS subrogation recoveries may exceed the sum of the unpaid claims and the present value of expected cash flows for a given policy. The net cash inflow for these policies is recorded as a “Subrogation recoverable” asset. For those transactions where the subrogation recovery is less than the sum of unpaid claims and the present value of expected cash flows, the net cash outflow for these policies is recorded as a “Loss and loss expense reserves” liability.
(3) | The sponsor’s repurchase obligation may differ depending on the terms of the particular transaction and the status of the specific loan, such as whether it is performing or has been liquidated or charged off. The estimated subrogation recovery for these transactions is based primarily on loan level data provided through trustee reports received in the normal course of our surveillance activities or provided by the sponsor. While this data may not include all the components of the sponsor’s contractual repurchase obligation we believe it is the best information available to estimate the subrogation recovery.
Summary of Rollforward of RMBS Subrogation, by Estimation Approach | Below is the rollforward of RMBS subrogation, by random sample estimation approach, for the affected periods:
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2016 |  | 2015
Discounted RMBS subrogation (gross of reinsurance) at beginning of period | $ | 2,829,575 |  |  | $ | 2,523,540 |
Changes recognized during the period: |  |  |
Impact of sponsor actions (1) | (995,000 | ) |  | — |
All other changes (2) | 20,498 |  |  | 44,813 |
Discounted RMBS subrogation (gross of reinsurance) at end of period | $ | 1,855,073 |  |  | $ | 2,568,353 |
(1) | Sponsor actions include loan repurchases, direct payments to Ambac and other contributions.
(2) | All other changes which may impact RMBS subrogation recoveries include changes in actual or projected collateral performance, changes in the creditworthiness of a sponsor and/or the projected timing of recoveries. All other changes may also include estimates of potential sponsor settlements that may not have been subject to a sampling approach, are currently in negotiation or have been executed but the settlement amounts have not yet been received. Those that have not been subject to a sampling approach are not material to Ambac’s financial results and therefore are included in the Random Sample column of this table.
Insurance Intangible Asset [Member] |
Insurance [Line Items] |
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense [Table Text Block] | The estimated future amortization expense for the net insurance intangible asset is as follows:
|  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2020 |  | Thereafter
Amortization expense |  | $ | 84,089 |  |  | $ | 99,230 |  |  | $ | 88,572 |  |  | $ | 80,088 |  |  | $ | 74,213 |  |  | $ | 723,774 |

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- Definition Tabular disclosure that provides regarding the balance sheet line items for the liability "Loss and Loss Expense Reserves" and the asset "Subrogation Recoverable". Includes the various components of Unpaid Claims, Accrued Interest on Unpaid Claims, Present Value of Future Expected Claims and Loss Expenses, Present Vlaue of Future Expected Recoveries and the related Unearned Premium Revenue liability. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of insured financial obligations with credit deterioration related to the claim liability on financial guarantee insurance contracts as of the end of each annual and interim reporting period detailing, at a minimum, the following for each surveillance category or grouping used to track and monitor the entity's insured financial obligations: (1) number of issued and outstanding financial guarantee insurance contracts; (2) remaining weighted average contract period; (3) insured contractual payments outstanding, segregating principal and interest; (4) gross claim liability; (5) gross potential recoveries; (6) net discount of both the claim liability and potential recoveries; (7) net claim liability; (8) reinsurance recoverable; and (9) unearned premium revenue. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 40 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -Subparagraph (a)(5), (b)(1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6933314&loc=SL5749324-161292 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 40 -Section 55 -Paragraph 34 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=34726416&loc=SL5751140-161288 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the activity in the reserve for settling insured claims and expenses incurred in the claims settlement process for the period. The estimated liability includes the amount of money that will be required for future payments of (a) claims that have been reported to the insurer, (b) claims related to insured events that have occurred but that have not been reported to the insurer as of the date the liability is estimated, and (c) claim adjustment expenses. Claim adjustment expenses include costs incurred in the claim settlement process such as legal fees; outside adjuster fees; and costs to record, process, and adjust claims. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 40 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6482485&loc=d3e14764-158437 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the amount of amortization expense expected to be recorded in succeeding fiscal years for finite-lived intangible assets. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16323-109275 + Details
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