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Special Purpose Entities, Including Variable Interest Entities | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Special Purpose Entities, Including Variable Interest Entities | 3. SPECIAL PURPOSE ENTITIES, INCLUDING VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES Ambac, with its subsidiaries, has engaged in transactions with special purpose entities, including VIEs, in various capacities.
• | Ambac most commonly provides financial guarantees, including credit derivative contracts, for various debt obligations issued by special purpose entities, including VIEs ("FG VIEs").
• | Ambac sponsors special purpose entities that issued notes to fund the purchase of certain financial assets.
• | Ambac monetized its ownership of the junior surplus note issued to it by the Segregated Account by depositing the junior surplus note into a newly formed VIE trust in exchange for cash and an owner trust certificate, which represents Ambac's right to residual cash flows from the junior surplus note.
• | Ambac is an investor in collateralized debt obligations, mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities issued by VIEs and its ownership interest is generally insignificant to the VIE and/or Ambac does not have rights that direct the activities that are most significant to such VIE.
FG VIEs: Ambac’s subsidiaries provide financial guarantees in respect of assets held or debt obligations of special purpose entities, including VIEs. Ambac’s primary variable interest exists through this financial guarantee insurance or credit derivative contract. The transaction structures provide certain financial protection to Ambac. This financial protection can take several forms; however, the most common are over-collateralization, first loss and excess spread. In the case of over-collateralization (i.e., the principal amount of the securitized assets exceeds the principal amount of the debt obligations guaranteed), the structure allows the transaction to experience defaults among the securitized assets before a default is experienced on the debt obligations that have been guaranteed by Ambac’s subsidiaries. In the case of first loss, the financial guarantee insurance policy or credit derivative contract only covers a senior layer of losses on assets held or debt issued by special purpose entities, including VIEs. The first loss with respect to the assets is either retained by the asset seller or sold off in the form of equity or mezzanine debt to other investors. In the case of excess spread, the securitized assets contributed to special purpose entities, including VIEs, generate interest cash flows that are in excess of the interest payments on the related debt; such excess cash flow is applied to redeem debt, thus creating over-collateralization. Generally, upon deterioration in the performance of a transaction or upon an event of default as specified in the transaction legal documents, Ambac will obtain certain loss remediation rights. These rights may enable Ambac to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance. We determined that Ambac’s subsidiaries generally have the obligation to absorb a FG VIE's expected losses given that they have issued financial guarantees supporting the liabilities (and in certain cases assets). As further described below, we consolidated certain FG VIEs because: (i) we determined for certain transactions that experienced the aforementioned performance deterioration, that Ambac’s subsidiaries had the power, through voting rights or similar rights, to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance because certain triggers had been breached in these transactions resulting in Ambac's subsidiaries' ability to exercise certain loss remediation activities, or (ii) due to the passive nature of the VIEs’ activities, Ambac’s subsidiaries’ contingent loss remediation rights upon a breach of certain triggers in the future is considered to be the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIEs’ economic performance. With respect to existing VIEs involving Ambac financial guarantees, Ambac is generally required to consolidate a VIE in the period that applicable triggers result in Ambac having control over the VIE’s most significant economic activities. As further discussed in Note 1. Background and Business Description, the OCI requires Ambac Assurance to obtain its approval with respect to the exercise of certain control rights in connection with policies that had been allocated to the Segregated Account. Accordingly management expects the number of additional VIEs that may be consolidated as a result of the Segregated Account's exit from rehabilitation will be reduced and possibly eliminated. A VIE is deconsolidated in the period that Ambac no longer has such control, which could occur in connection with the execution of remediation activities on the transaction or amortization of insured exposure, any of which may reduce the degree of Ambac’s control over a VIE. Assets and liabilities of FG VIEs that are consolidated are reported within Variable interest entity assets or Variable interest entity liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The net results from such FG VIEs are reported within Income (loss) on variable interest entities in the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss). Upon initial consolidation of a FG VIE, we recognize a gain or loss in earnings for the difference between: (i) the fair value of the consideration paid, the fair value of any non-controlling interests and the reported amount of any previously held interests and (ii) the net amount, as measured on a fair value basis, of the assets and liabilities consolidated. Upon deconsolidation of a FG VIE, we recognize a gain or loss for the difference between: (i) the fair value of any consideration received, the fair value of any retained non-controlling investment in the VIE and the carrying amount of any non-controlling interest in the VIE and (ii) the carrying amount of the VIE’s assets and liabilities. Gains or losses from consolidation and deconsolidation that are reported in earnings are reported within Income (loss) on variable interest entities on the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss). The impact of consolidating such FG VIEs on Ambac’s balance sheet is the elimination of transactions between the consolidated FG VIEs and Ambac’s operating subsidiaries and the inclusion of the FG VIE’s third party assets and liabilities. For a financial guarantee insurance policy issued to a consolidated VIE, Ambac does not reflect the financial guarantee insurance policy in accordance with the related insurance accounting rules under the Financial Services – Insurance Topic of the ASC. Consequently, upon consolidation, Ambac eliminates the insurance assets and liabilities associated with the policy from the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Such insurance assets and liabilities may include premium receivables, reinsurance recoverable, deferred ceded premium, subrogation recoverable, unearned premiums, loss and loss expense reserves, ceded premiums payable and insurance intangible assets. For investment securities owned by Ambac that are debt instruments issued by the VIE, the investment securities balance is eliminated upon consolidation. As of December 31, 2017 consolidated FG VIE assets and liabilities relating to 11 consolidated entities were $14,500,507 and $14,366,434, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, consolidated FG VIE assets and liabilities relating to 12 consolidated entities were $13,367,834 and $13,235,425, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, eight and three consolidated FG VIEs related to transaction insured by Ambac UK and Ambac Assurance and eight and four as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2017 FG VIE assets and liabilities of $14,160,152 and $14,026,704 and as of December 31, 2016, FG VIE assets and liabilities of $12,950,009 and $12,833,466 related to transactions guaranteed by Ambac UK. The remaining balance of consolidated FG VIE assets and liabilities are related to transactions guaranteed by Ambac Assurance. Ambac is not primarily liable for, and generally does not guarantee all of the debt obligations issued by the VIEs. Ambac would only be required to make payments on the VIE debt obligations in the event that the issuer of such debt obligations defaults on any principal or interest due and such obligation is guaranteed by Ambac. Additionally, Ambac’s general creditors, other than those specific policy holders which own the VIE debt obligations, do not have rights with regard to the assets of the VIEs. Ambac evaluates the net income effects and earnings per share effects to determine attributions between Ambac and non-controlling interests as a result of consolidating a VIE. Ambac has determined that the net income and earnings per share effect of these consolidated FG VIEs are attributable to Ambac’s interests through financial guarantee premium and loss payments with the VIE. Below is a schedule detailing the change in fair value of the various financial instruments within the consolidated FG VIEs, along with gains (losses) from consolidating and deconsolidating FG VIEs, that together comprise Income (loss) on variable interest entities for for the affected periods:
Year Ended December 31, |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2015
Income (loss) on changes related to: |  |  |  |  |  |
Net fair value of VIE assets and liabilities |  | $ | 19,670 |  |  | $ | (14,093 | ) |  | $ | 30,997 |
Deconsolidation |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 572 |
Income (loss) on Variable Interest Entities |  | $ | 19,670 |  |  | $ | (14,093 | ) |  | $ | 31,569 |
Ambac deconsolidated one, one and two VIEs for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. These VIEs were deconsolidated as a result of guaranteed bond retirements or financial guarantee policy terminations that eliminated Ambac's controlling interest in the entities. The deconsolidations occurring in 2017 and 2016 were related to guaranteed bond retirements which resulted in no gain or loss. The gain on deconsolidation in 2015 reflected the excess of fees receivable from a financial guarantee policy termination for one VIE, representing Ambac's remaining non-controlling financial interest, over the fair value of net assets of the VIE at deconsolidation. The table below provides the fair value of fixed income securities, by asset-type, held by consolidated VIEs as of December 31, 2017 and 2016:
December 31, | 2017 |  | 2016
Investments: |  |  |
Corporate obligations | $ | 2,914,145 |  |  | $ | 2,622,566 |
Total variable interest entity assets: fixed income securities | $ | 2,914,145 |  |  | $ | 2,622,566 |
The following table provides supplemental information about the loans held as assets and long-term debt associated with the VIEs for which the fair value option has been elected as of December 31, 2017 and 2016:
| Estimated fair value |  | Unpaid principal balance
December 31, 2017: |  |  |
Loans | $ | 11,529,384 |  |  | $ | 8,168,651 |
Long-term debt | 12,160,544 |  |  | 9,387,884 |
December 31, 2016: |  |  |
Loans | 10,658,963 |  |  | 7,641,756 |
Long-term debt | $ | 11,155,936 |  |  | $ | 8,854,530 |
Ambac Sponsored VIEs: A subsidiary of Ambac transferred financial assets to a special purpose entity. The business purpose of this entity was to provide certain financial guarantee clients with funding for their debt obligations. This special purpose entity was established as a separate legal entity, demonstrably distinct from Ambac and that Ambac, its affiliates or its agents could not unilaterally dissolve. The permitted activities of this entity are contractually limited to purchasing assets from Ambac, issuing medium-term notes ("MTNs") to fund such purchases, executing derivative hedges and obtaining financial guarantee policies with respect to indebtedness incurred. Ambac does not consolidate this entity because Ambac Assurance’s policies issued to it were allocated to the Segregated Account, thereby limiting Ambac’s control over the entity's most significant economic activities. Pursuant to the Stipulation and Order (described in Note 1. Background and Business Description), Ambac's exercise of certain control rights with respect to former Segregated Account policies will continue to be subject to approval by OCI. Ambac has elected to account for its equity interest in this entity at fair value under the fair value option in accordance with the Financial Instruments Topic of the ASC. We believe that the fair value of the investments in this entity provides for greater transparency for recording profit or loss as compared to the equity method under the Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures Topic of the ASC. Refer to Note 9. Fair Value Measurements for further information on the valuation technique and inputs used to measure the fair value of Ambac’s equity interest in this entity. At December 31, 2017 and 2016 the fair value of this entity was $5,979 and $7,382, respectively, and is reported within Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
• | Total principal amount of debt outstanding was $420,600 and $388,950 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. In each case, Ambac sold assets to this entity. The assets are composed of utility obligations with a weighted average rating of BBB+ at December 31, 2017 and weighted average life of 3.1 years. The purchase by this entity of financial assets was financed through the issuance of MTNs, which are cross-collateralized by the purchased assets. The MTNs have the same expected weighted average life as the purchased assets. Derivative contracts (interest rate swaps) are used within the entity for economic hedging purposes only. Derivative positions were established at the time MTNs were issued to purchase financial assets. As of December 31, 2017, all fixed-income securities owned, MTNs outstanding and payments due under derivative contracts were guaranteed under financial guarantee insurance policies issued by Ambac Assurance or Ambac UK.
• | Insurance premiums paid to Ambac Assurance and Ambac UK by this entity are earned in a manner consistent with other insurance policies, over the risk period. Additionally, any losses incurred on such insurance policies are included in Ambac’s Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss). Under the terms of an Administrative Agency Agreement, Ambac provides certain administrative duties, primarily collecting amounts due on the obligations and making interest payments on the MTNs.
In July 2015, Ambac Assurance entered into a secured borrowing transaction whereby it sold 17 Ambac insured residential mortgage-backed securities (the "Securities") and all rights associated therewith as of May 31, 2015, to a Delaware statutory trust (the "Trust") in exchange for an equity certificate in the Trust, all financial guarantee claim payments associated with the Securities and cash of $146,000 (prior to expenses associated with the transaction). Although the Securities were legally sold to the Trust, the Securities will remain in fixed income securities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Securities had par and fair value of $293,409 and $346,212 as of December 31, 2017, respectively. Refer to Note 10. Investments for further discussion of the restrictions on the invested assets. At the same time, a second Delaware statutory trust (the "Issuer"), issued $146,000 of debt securities and used the proceeds, together with an equity certificate of the Issuer, to purchase from the Trust a certificate secured by and entitling the Issuer to all principal and interest payments (other than financial guarantee claim payments) on the Securities. Interest on the debt securities is payable monthly at an annual rate of one month LIBOR + 2.8%. Both the Trust and the Issuer are consolidated VIEs because Ambac Assurance was involved in their design and holds a significant amount of the beneficial interests issued by the VIEs or guaranteed the assets held by the VIEs. VIE debt outstanding to third parties under this secured borrowing transaction had a carrying value of $73,993 and $102,403 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and is reported in Long-Term Debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Variable Interests in Non-Consolidated VIEs On August 28, 2014, Ambac monetized its ownership of the junior surplus note issued to it by the Segregated Account by depositing the junior surplus note into a newly formed VIE trust in exchange for cash and an owner trust certificate, which represents Ambac's right to residual cash flows from the junior surplus notes. Ambac does not consolidate the VIE. Ambac reports its interest in the VIE as an equity investment within Other investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets with associated results from operations included within Net investment income: Other investments on the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss). The equity investment had a carrying value of $34,941 and $30,003 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Additionally, at December 31, 2017 Ambac held $35,000 of the debt issued by this VIE. The following table displays the carrying amount of the assets, liabilities and maximum exposure to loss of Ambac’s variable interests in non-consolidated VIEs resulting from financial guarantee and derivative contracts by major underlying asset classes, as of December 31, 2017 and 2016:
| Carrying Value of Assets and Liabilities
| Maximum Exposure To Loss (1) |  | Insurance Assets (2) |  | Insurance Liabilities (3) |  | Net Derivative Assets (Liabilities) (4)
December 31, 2017: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Global structured finance: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Collateralized debt obligations | $ | 35,555 |  |  | $ | 169 |  |  | $ | 1 |  |  | $ | (15 | )
Mortgage-backed—residential | 12,766,685 |  |  | 619,848 |  |  | 3,218,356 |  |  | — |
Other consumer asset-backed | 2,266,610 |  |  | 23,405 |  |  | 328,732 |  |  | — |
Other commercial asset-backed | 987,797 |  |  | 30,413 |  |  | 35,976 |  |  | — |
Other | 2,513,304 |  |  | 60,086 |  |  | 306,457 |  |  | 10,311 |
Total global structured finance | 18,569,951 |  |  | 733,921 |  |  | 3,889,522 |  |  | 10,296 |
Global public finance | 25,629,816 |  |  | 335,347 |  |  | 371,056 |  |  | (551 | )
Total | $ | 44,199,767 |  |  | $ | 1,069,268 |  |  | $ | 4,260,578 |  |  | $ | 9,745 |
December 31, 2016: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Global structured finance: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Collateralized debt obligations | $ | 761,451 |  |  | $ | 218 |  |  | $ | 3,319 |  |  | $ | (145,402 | )
Mortgage-backed—residential | 14,859,909 |  |  | 725,106 |  |  | 3,118,892 |  |  | — |
Other consumer asset-backed | 2,391,604 |  |  | 26,758 |  |  | 302,335 |  |  | — |
Other commercial asset-backed | 1,686,256 |  |  | 66,277 |  |  | 64,961 |  |  | — |
Other | 2,963,521 |  |  | 66,091 |  |  | 412,929 |  |  | 13,347 |
Total global structured finance | 22,662,741 |  |  | 884,450 |  |  | 3,902,436 |  |  | (132,055 | )
Global public finance | 25,608,471 |  |  | 338,587 |  |  | 359,142 |  |  | (8,827 | )
Total | $ | 48,271,212 |  |  | $ | 1,223,037 |  |  | $ | 4,261,578 |  |  | $ | (140,882 | )
(1) | Maximum exposure to loss represents the maximum future payments of principal and interest on insured obligations and derivative contracts plus Deferred Amounts and accrued and unpaid interest thereon. Ambac’s maximum exposure to loss does not include the benefit of any financial instruments (such as reinsurance or hedge contracts) that Ambac may utilize to mitigate the risks associated with these variable interests.
(2) | Insurance assets represent the amount recorded in “Premium receivables” and “Subrogation recoverable” for financial guarantee contracts on Ambac’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.
(3) | Insurance liabilities represent the amount recorded in “Loss and loss expense reserves” and “Unearned premiums” for financial guarantee contracts on Ambac’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.
(4) | Net derivative assets (liabilities) represent the fair value recognized on credit derivative contracts and interest rate swaps on Ambac’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77990344&loc=d3e5747-111685 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77990344&loc=SL6228884-111685 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77990344&loc=d3e5728-111685 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5A -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77990344&loc=SL6759159-111685 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77990344&loc=d3e5710-111685 + Details
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