11. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The following tables summarize the gross fair values of individual derivative instruments and the impact of legal rights of offset as reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.



	Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets / Liabilities		Gross Amounts Offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheet		Net Amounts of Assets/ Liabilities Presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheet		Gross Amount of Collateral Received / Pledged not Offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheet		Net Amount
December 31, 2018:
Derivative Assets:
Interest rate swaps	$	59,768	$	300	$	59,468	$	—	$	59,468
Total non-VIE derivative assets	$	59,768	$	300	$	59,468	$	—	$	59,468
Derivative Liabilities:
Credit derivatives	$	1,459	$	—	$	1,459	$	—	$	1,459
Interest rate swaps	72,161		300		71,861		67,126		4,735
Futures contracts	3,379		—		3,379		3,379		—
Total non-VIE derivative liabilities	$	76,999	$	300	$	76,699	$	70,505	$	6,194
Variable Interest Entities Derivative Assets:
Currency swaps	$	66,302	$	—	$	66,302	$	—	$	66,302
Total VIE derivative assets	$	66,302	$	—	$	66,302	$	—	$	66,302
Variable Interest Entities Derivative Liabilities:
Interest rate swaps	$	1,712,062	$	—	$	1,712,062	$	—	$	1,712,062
Total VIE derivative liabilities	$	1,712,062	$	—	$	1,712,062	$	—	$	1,712,062



	Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets / Liabilities		Gross Amounts Offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheet		Net Amounts of Assets/ Liabilities Presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheet		Gross Amount of Collateral Received / Pledged not Offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheet		Net Amount
December 31, 2017:
Derivative Assets:
Interest rate swaps	$	73,826	$	627	$	73,199	$	—	$	73,199
Total non-VIE derivative assets	$	73,826	$	627	$	73,199	$	—	$	73,199
Derivative Liabilities:
Credit derivatives	$	566	$	—	$	566	$	—	$	566
Interest rate swaps	81,495		627		80,868		79,912		956
Futures contracts	1,348		—		1,348		1,348		—
Total non-VIE derivative liabilities	$	83,409	$	627	$	82,782	$	81,260	$	1,522
Variable Interest Entities Derivative Assets:
Currency swaps	$	54,877	$	—	$	54,877	$	—	$	54,877
Total VIE derivative assets	$	54,877	$	—	$	54,877	$	—	$	54,877
Variable Interest Entities Derivative Liabilities:
Interest rate swaps	$	2,205,264	$	—	$	2,205,264	$	—	$	2,205,264
Total VIE derivative liabilities	$	2,205,264	$	—	$	2,205,264	$	—	$	2,205,264

Amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash and cash equivalents collateral or the obligation to return cash and cash equivalents collateral are not offset against fair value amounts recognized for derivative instruments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The amounts representing the right to reclaim cash and cash equivalents collateral and posted margin, recorded in “Other assets” were $102,904 and $20,926 as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. There were no amounts held representing an obligation to return cash and cash equivalents collateral as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.

The following tables summarize the location and amount of gains and losses of derivative contracts in the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:



	Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Consolidated Statement of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss) – Year Ended December 31,
		2018			2017			2016
Non-VIE derivatives:
Change in fair value of credit derivatives:
Realized gains and other settlements		$	388		$	1,589		$	912
Unrealized gains (losses)		(893		)	14,783			19,194
Credit derivatives	Net gains (losses) on derivative contracts	(505		)	16,372			20,106
Interest rate swaps	Net gains (losses) on derivative contracts	600			48,870			(50,082		)
Futures contracts	Net gains (losses) on derivative contracts	6,895			10,695			(191		)
Total non-VIE derivatives		6,990			75,937			(30,167		)
Variable Interest Entities:
Currency swaps	Income (loss) on variable interest entities	11,425			(25,530		)	58,990
Interest rate swaps	Income (loss) on variable interest entities	493,203			(126,664		)	(574,554		)
Total Variable Interest Entities		504,628			(152,194		)	(515,564		)
Total derivative contracts		$	511,113		$	(59,885	)	$	(525,625	)

Credit Derivatives:

Credit derivatives, which are privately negotiated contracts, provide the counterparty with credit protection against the occurrence of a specific event such as a payment default or bankruptcy relating to an underlying obligation. Credit derivatives issued are insured by Ambac Assurance. None of the outstanding credit derivative transactions at December 31, 2018 include ratings based collateral-posting triggers or otherwise require Ambac to post collateral regardless of Ambac’s ratings or the size of the mark to market exposure to Ambac.

The portfolio of our credit derivatives were written on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. Similar to a financial guarantee insurance policy execution, pay-as-you-go provides that Ambac pays interest shortfalls on the referenced transaction as they are incurred on each scheduled payment date, but only pays principal shortfalls upon the earlier of (i) the date on which the assets designated to fund the referenced obligation have been disposed of and (ii) the legal final maturity date of the referenced obligation.

Ambac maintains internal credit ratings on its guaranteed obligations, including credit derivative contracts, solely to indicate management’s view of the underlying credit quality of the guaranteed obligations. Independent rating agencies may have assigned different ratings on the credits in Ambac’s portfolio than Ambac’s internal ratings. The following summarizes the gross principal notional outstanding for CDS contracts, by Ambac rating as of December 31, 2018 and 2017:



Ambac Rating December 31,	2018		2017
AAA	$	—	$	—
AA	295,342		175,765
A	—		—
BBB ⁽¹⁾	—		150,125
Below investment grade ⁽²⁾	—		—
Total	$	295,342	$	325,890


(1)	BBB internal ratings reflect bonds which are of medium grade credit quality with adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Certain protective elements and margins may weaken under adverse economic conditions and changing circumstances. These bonds are more likely than higher rated bonds to exhibit unreliable protection levels over all cycles.


(2)	Below investment grade internal ratings reflect bonds which are of speculative grade credit quality with the adequacy of future margin levels for payment of interest and repayment of principal potentially adversely affected by major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse conditions.

Interest Rate Derivatives:

Ambac, through its subsidiary Ambac Financial Services (“AFS”), uses interest rate swaps and US Treasury futures contracts to provide an economic hedge against the effects of rising interest rates elsewhere in the Company, including on Ambac’s financial guarantee exposures. Additionally, AFS provided interest rate swaps to states, municipalities and their authorities, asset-backed issuers and other entities in connection with their financings. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017 the notional amounts of its derivatives are as follows:



	Notional - December 31,
Type of Derivative	2018		2017
Interest rate swaps—receive-fixed/pay-variable	$	493,368	$	379,497
Interest rate swaps—pay-fixed/receive-variable	1,121,532		1,428,264
US Treasury futures contracts—short	1,760,000		1,655,000

On June 27, 2017, Ambac entered into a termination agreement with various parties in connection with the commutation of interest rate swaps between an asset-backed issuer and AFS. Ambac paid $94,407 under the termination agreement and reported a gain on the terminated swaps of $43,443 within net gains (losses) on derivative contracts on the Consolidated Statements of Total Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Derivatives of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities

Certain VIEs consolidated under the Consolidation Topic of the ASC entered into derivative contracts to meet specified purposes within their securitization structure. The notional for VIE derivatives outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 are as follows:



	Notional - December 31,
Type of VIE Derivative	2018		2017
Interest rate swaps—receive-fixed/pay-variable	$	1,399,532	$	1,483,491
Interest rate swaps—pay-fixed/receive-variable	1,176,748		2,479,244
Currency swaps	344,992		394,541
Credit derivatives	10,254		12,100

Contingent Features in Derivatives Related to Ambac Credit Risk

Ambac’s over-the-counter interest rate swaps are centrally cleared when eligible. Certain interest rate swaps remain with professional swap-dealer counterparties and certain front-end counterparties. These non-cleared swaps are generally executed under standardized derivative documents including collateral support and master netting agreements. Under these agreements, Ambac is required to post collateral in the event net unrealized losses exceed predetermined threshold levels. Additionally, given that Ambac Assurance is no longer rated by an independent rating agency, counterparties have the right to terminate the swap positions.

As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the net liability fair value of derivative instruments with contingent features linked to Ambac’s own credit risk was $67,071 and $79,912, respectively, related to which Ambac had posted cash, cash equivalents and securities as collateral with a fair value of $92,657 and $111,391, respectively. All such ratings-based contingent features have been triggered as requiring maximum collateral levels to be posted by Ambac while preserving counterparties’ rights to terminate the contracts. Assuming all such contracts terminated on December 31, 2018, settlement of collateral balances and net derivative liabilities would result in a net receipt of cash and/or securities by Ambac. If counterparties elect to exercise their right to terminate, the actual termination payment amounts will be determined in accordance with derivative contract terms, which may result in amounts that differ from market values as reported in Ambac’s financial statements.