Note 7 — Advances

Advances, net, which represent payments made on behalf of borrowers or on foreclosed properties, consisted of the following at December 31:



	2015			2014
Servicing:
Principal and interest	$	81,654		$	128,217
Taxes and insurance	275,528			467,891
Foreclosures, bankruptcy and other	125,017			363,374
	482,199			959,482
Corporate Items and Other	4,000			4,466
	486,199			963,948
Allowance for losses	(41,901		)	(70,034		)
	$	444,298		$	893,914

Advances at December 31, 2015 include $86.4 million of remaining Ginnie Mae EBO advances, which did not qualify for sales accounting.

The following table summarizes the activity in advances for the years ended December 31:



	2015			2014			2013
Beginning balance	$	893,914		$	890,832		$	184,463
Acquisitions (1)	—			99,319			733,438
Transfers to match funded advances	—			(10,156		)	(142,286		)
Sales of advances (2)	(253,335		)	—			(200,749		)
New advances (collections of advances), net and charge-offs	(224,414		)	(54,424		)	328,151
Decrease (increase) in allowance for losses (3)	28,133			(31,657		)	(12,185		)
Ending balance	$	444,298		$	893,914		$	890,832


(1)	Servicing advances acquired through business acquisitions and asset acquisitions, primarily in connection with the acquisition of MSRs. Acquisitions in 2014 include advances acquired in connection with the purchase of loans through the Ginnie Mae EBO program.

(2)

Servicing advances sold in connection with sales of MSRs and Rights to MSRs, which met the requirements for sale accounting and which were derecognized from our financial statements at the time of the sale. However, advances sold during 2014 in connection with the sale of loans purchased through the Ginnie Mae EBO program did not qualify as sales for accounting purposes and were accounted for as a financing.


(3)	The decrease in the allowance for losses in 2015 includes $68.9 million of charge-offs.