4. Loans at Fair Value and Notes and Certificates at Fair Value

We use fair value measurements to record fair value adjustments to Member Loans and the related Notes and Certificates that are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis.

Member Loans and the related Notes and Certificates do not trade in an active market with readily observable prices. Accordingly, the fair value of Member Loans and the related Notes and Certificates are determined using a discounted cash flow model utilizing assumptions market participants use for credit losses, changes in the interest rate environment, and other factors. Fair value measurements of our Member Loans and the related Notes and Certificates use significant unobservable inputs and, accordingly, we classify them as Level 3.

We have ongoing monitoring procedures in place for our Level 3 assets and liabilities that use such internal valuation models. These procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that models continue to perform as expected after approved. All internal valuation models are subject to ongoing review by business-unit-level management and the executive management team.

At December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, Loans, Notes and Certificates measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands) were:


	Loans at Fair Value						Notes and Certificates at Fair Value
	December 31, 2013			December 31, 2012			December 31, 2013			December 31, 2012
Aggregate principal balance outstanding	$	1,849,042		$	791,774		$	1,859,982		$	795,842
Fair valuation adjustments		(20,000	)		(10,559	)		(19,992	)		(10,526	)

Fair Value	$	1,829,042		$	781,215		$	1,839,990		$	785,316

We determined the fair values of Loans, Notes and Certificates using inputs and methods that are categorized in the fair value hierarchy, as follows (in thousands):


	Level 1 Inputs		Level 2 Inputs		Level 3 Inputs		Fair Value
December 31, 2013
Assets
Loans at fair value	$	—	$	—	$	1,829,042	$	1,829,042
Liabilities
Notes and Certificates	$	—	$	—	$	1,839,990	$	1,839,990
December 31, 2012
Assets
Loans at fair value	$	—	$	—	$	781,215	$	781,215
Liabilities
Notes and Certificates	$	—	$	—	$	785,316	$	785,316

Instruments are categorized in the Level 3 valuation hierarchy based on the significance of unobservable factors in the overall fair value measurement. Our fair value approach for Level 3 instruments primarily uses unobservable inputs, but may also include observable, actively quoted components derived from external sources. As a result, the realized and unrealized gains and losses for assets and liabilities within the Level 3 category presented in the tables below may include changes in fair value that were attributable to both observable and unobservable inputs.

The following table presents additional information about Level 3 assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):


	Loans			Notes and Certificates
Fair value at December 31, 2012	$	781,215		$	785,316
Purchases of Loans		2,064,628			—
Issuances of Notes and Certificates		—			1,618,269
Principal repayments		(511,232	)		(504,330	)
Whole Loan sales		(446,224	)		—
Recoveries from sale and collection of charged-off loans		(1,716	)		(1,669	)

Carrying value before fair value adjustments		1,886,671			1,897,586
Fair valuation adjustments, included in earnings		(57,629	)		(57,596	)

Fair value at December 31, 2013	$	1,829,042		$	1,839,990

At December 31, 2013, Loans underlying Notes and Certificates have original terms of 36 months or 60 months and are paid monthly with fixed interest rates ranging from 5.42% to 26.06% and various maturity dates through December 2018.

The fair values of Loans and the related Notes and Certificates are determined using a discounted cash flow model utilizing estimates for credit losses, changes in the interest rate environment, and other factors. For Notes and Certificates, we also consider risk factors such as LC’s continued profitability, ability to operate on a cash-flow positive basis and liquidity position. The majority of fair valuation adjustments included in earnings is attributable to changes in estimated instrument-specific future credit losses. All fair valuation adjustments were related to Level 3 instruments for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. A specific Loan that is projected to have higher future default losses than previously estimated has lower expected future cash flows over its remaining life, which reduces its estimated fair value. Conversely, a specific Loan that is projected to have lower future default losses than previously estimated has increased expected future cash flows over its remaining life, which increases its fair value. Because the payments to holders of Notes and Certificates directly reflect the payments received on Loans, a reduction or increase of the expected future payments on Loans will decrease or increase the estimated fair values of the related Notes and Certificates. Expected losses and actual Loan charge-offs on Loans are offset to the extent that the Loans are financed by Notes and Certificates that absorb the related Loan losses.

The fair value adjustments for Loans were largely offset by the fair value adjustments of the Notes and Certificates due to the member payment dependent design of the Notes and Certificates and because the principal balances of the Loans were very close to the combined principal balances of the Notes and Certificates. Accordingly, the net fair value adjustment losses for Loans, Notes and Certificates were $0.03 million, $0.6 million and $0.001 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, the nine months ended December 31, 2012 and the year ended March 31, 2012, respectively.

At December 31, 2013, we had 1,464 Loans that were 90 days or more past due including non-accrual Loans and Loans where the borrower has filed for bankruptcy or is deceased, which had a total outstanding principal balance of $15.6 million, aggregate adverse fair value adjustments totaling $13.8 million and an aggregate fair value of $1.8 million. At December 31, 2012, we had 576 Loans that were 90 days or more past due including non-accrual Loans and Loans where the borrower has filed for bankruptcy or is deceased, which had a total outstanding principal balance of $6.4 million, aggregate adverse fair value adjustments totaling $5.7 million and an aggregate fair value of $0.7 million.

Significant Unobservable Inputs

The following table presents quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used for certain of our Level 3 fair value measurements at December 31, 2013 (in thousands):


						Range of Inputs
	Fair Value		Valuation Techniques		Unobservable Input	Minimum			Maximum
Loans	$	1,829,042		Discounted cash flow	Discount rate		5.9	%		15.9	%
					Net cumulative expected loss		2.1	%		23.7	%
Notes & Certificates	$	1,839,990		Discounted cash flow	Discount rate		5.9	%		15.9	%
					Net cumulative expected loss		2.1	%		23.7	%

The valuation technique used for our Level 3 assets and liabilities, as presented in the previous table, is described as follows:

Discounted cash flow – Discounted cash flow valuation techniques generally consist of developing an estimate of future cash flows that are expected to occur over the life of a financial instrument and then discounting those cash flows at a rate of return that results in the fair value amount.

Significant unobservable inputs presented in the previous table are those we consider significant to the estimated fair values of the Level 3 assets and liabilities. We consider unobservable inputs to be significant, if by their exclusion, the estimated fair value of the Level 3 asset or liability would be impacted by a significant percentage change, or based on qualitative factors such as the nature of the instrument and significance of the unobservable inputs relative to other inputs used within the valuation. Following is a description of the significant unobservable inputs provided in the table.

Discount rate – Discount rate is a rate of return used to discount future expected cash flows to arrive at a present value, the fair value, of the Loans, Notes and Certificates. The discount rates for the projected net cash flows of Loans are our estimates of the rates of return that investors in unsecured consumer credit obligations would require when investing in the various credit grades of Loans. The discount rates for the projected net cash flows of the Notes and Certificates are our estimates of the rates of return that investors in unsecured consumer credit obligations would require when investing in Notes issued by LC and Certificates issued by the Trust with cash flows dependent on specific grades of Loans. Discount rates for existing Loans, Notes and Certificates are adjusted to reflect the time value of money. A risk premium component is implicitly included in the discount rates to reflect the amount of compensation market participants require due to the uncertainty inherent in the instruments’ cash flows resulting from risks such as credit and liquidity.

Net cumulative expected loss – Net cumulative expected loss is an estimate of the net cumulative principal payments that will not be repaid over the entire life of a new Loans, Note or Certificate, expressed as a percentage of the original principal amount of the Loans, Note or Certificate. The estimated net cumulative loss is the sum of the net losses estimated to occur each month of the life of a new Loans, Note or Certificate. Therefore, the total net losses estimated to occur over the remaining maturity of existing Loans, Notes and Certificates are less than the estimated net cumulative losses of comparable new Loans, Notes and Certificates. A given month’s estimated net losses are a function of two variables:

(i)

estimated default rate, which is an estimate of the probability of not collecting the remaining contractual principal amounts owed and,

(ii)

estimated net loss severity, which is the percentage of contractual principal cash flows lost in the event of a default, net of the average net recovery, expected to be received on a defaulted Loans, Note or Certificate.

LC’s and the Trust’s obligation to pay principal and interest on any Note or Certificate is equal to the pro-rata portion of the payments, if any, received on the related Loan subject to applicable fees. The gross effective interest rate associated with Notes or Certificates is the same as the interest rate earned on the underlying Loan. At December 31, 2013, the discounted cash flow methodology used to estimate the Notes’ and Certificates’ fair values uses the same projected net cash flows as their related Loan. The discount rates for the projected net cash flows of the Notes and Certificates are our estimates of the rates of return, including risk premiums (if significant) that investors in unsecured consumer credit obligations would require when investing in Notes issued by LC and Certificates issued by the Trust with cash flows dependent on specific credit grades of Loans.

Significant Recurring Level 3 Fair Value Asset and Liability Input Sensitivity

The discounted cash flow technique that we use to determine the fair value of our Level 3 Loans, Notes and Certificates value requires determination of relevant inputs and assumptions, some of which represent significant unobservable inputs as indicated in the preceding table. Accordingly, changes in these unobservable inputs may have a significant impact on fair value. Certain of these unobservable inputs will (in isolation) have a directionally consistent impact on the fair value of the instrument for a given change in that input. Alternatively, the fair value of the instrument may move in an opposite direction for a given change in another input. For example, increases in the discount rates and estimated net cumulative loss rates each will reduce the estimated fair value of Loans, Notes and Certificates. When multiple inputs are used within the valuation technique of a Loan, Note or Certificate, a change in one input in a certain direction may be offset by an opposite change in another input.