Financial Derivatives (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Gains and Losses on Derivative Contracts

Gains and losses on the Company's derivative contracts for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 are summarized in the tables below:

Year Ended December 31, 2015:



		Year Ended December 31, 2015
Derivative Type	Primary Risk Exposure	Net Realized Gain/(Loss)⁽¹⁾			Change in Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss)⁽²⁾
(In thousands)
Financial derivatives–assets
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	$	(2,964	)	$	2,098
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	(1,083		)	442
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	107			(763		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bonds	Credit	(6		)	10
Total return swaps	Equity Market/Credit	5,176			77
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rates	42,724			(22,572		)
Futures	Interest Rates/Equity Market	3,430			(181		)
Forwards	Currency	11,790			254
Other	Credit/ Interest Rates	10,492			734
		69,666			(19,901		)
Financial derivatives–liabilities
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	(102		)	35
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	369			(727		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	(8,166		)	8,266
Credit default swaps on corporate bonds	Credit	(999		)	684
Total return swaps	Equity Market/Credit	(3,338		)	(4,641		)
Interest rate swaps⁽³⁾	Interest Rates	(52,327		)	24,555
Futures	Interest Rates/Equity Market	(2,722		)	(495		)
Forwards	Currency	(7,052		)	123
Mortgage loan purchase commitments	Interest Rates	—			(8		)
Other	Credit/ Interest Rates/Equity Market	(5,444		)	889
		(79,781		)	28,681
Total		$	(10,115	)	$	8,780


(1)	Includes foreign currency translation on derivatives in the amount of $0.2 million, for the year ended December 31, 2015, which is included on the Consolidated Statement of Operations in Realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions.


(2)	Includes foreign currency translation on derivatives in the amount of $(1.1) million, for the year ended December 31, 2015, which is included on the Consolidated Statement of Operations in Change in net unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency translation.


(3)	Includes a $1.5 million reimbursement from a third party for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Year Ended December 31, 2014:



		Year Ended December 31, 2014
Derivative Type	Primary Risk Exposure	Net Realized Gain/(Loss)			Change in Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss)
(In thousands)
Financial derivatives–assets
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	$	(4,596	)	$	4,547
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	(4,662		)	2,059
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	1,938			(2,589		)
Total return swaps	Equity Market	12,975			3
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rates	10,610			5,101
Futures	Interest Rates/Equity Market	4,841			261
Forwards	Currency	3,845			884
Other	Credit/ Interest Rates	1,147			(928		)
		26,098			9,338
Financial derivatives–liabilities
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	(78		)	111
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	3,111			(1,743		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	(6,242		)	6,926
Credit default swaps on corporate bonds	Credit	270			(782		)
Total return swaps	Equity Market	(5,671		)	46
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rates	(23,939		)	(24,318		)
Futures	Interest Rates/Equity Market	(252		)	2,291
Forwards	Currency	(2,215		)	(98		)
Other	Credit/ Interest Rates/Equity Market	(2,293		)	(43		)
		(37,309		)	(17,610		)
Total		$	(11,211	)	$	(8,272	)

Year Ended December 31, 2013:



		Year Ended December 31, 2013
Derivative Type	Primary Risk Exposure	Net Realized Gain/(Loss)			Change in Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss)
(In thousands)
Financial derivatives–assets
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	$	(2,826	)	$	1,070
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	(5,954		)	1,082
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	626			1,026
Total return swaps	Equity Market	2,992			4
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rates	(2,829		)	23,548
Other	Credit/ Interest Rates	115			(244		)
		(7,876		)	26,486
Financial derivatives–liabilities
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	(78		)	(349		)
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	1,870			2,869
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	(9,573		)	(9,157		)
Total return swaps	Equity Market	(5,260		)	(3		)
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rates	319			(3,940		)
Futures	Interest Rates	(795		)	(2,302		)
Forwards	Currency	—			(38		)
Other	Interest Rates/ Equity Market	(86		)	(84		)
		(13,603		)	(13,004		)
Total		$	(21,479	)	$	13,482

Derivative activity, volume

The tables below detail the average notional values of the Company's financial derivatives, using absolute value of month end notional values, for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014:



Derivative Type	Year Ended December 31, 2015		Year Ended December 31, 2014
	(In thousands)
Interest rate swaps	$	2,463,892	$	2,227,315
Credit default swaps	1,080,772		552,411
Total return swaps	112,641		55,108
Futures	880,682		738,830
Options	865,600		926,369
Forwards	107,448		42,143
Warrants	1,554		120
Mortgage loan purchase commitments	2,093		—

Schedule of Credit Derivatives

Written credit derivatives held by the Company at December 31, 2015 and 2014, are summarized below:



Credit Derivatives	Amount at December 31, 2015			Amount at December 31, 2014
(In thousands)
Fair Value of Written Credit Derivatives, Net	$	135,443		$	27,741
Fair Value of Purchased Credit Derivatives Offsetting Written Credit Derivatives with Third Parties ⁽¹⁾	$	(369	)	$	(3,287	)
Notional Amount of Written Credit Derivatives ⁽²⁾	$	(799,750	)	$	(341,014	)
Notional Amount of Purchased Credit Derivatives Offsetting Written Credit Derivatives with Third Parties ⁽¹⁾	$	17,322		$	54,874


(1)	Offsetting transactions with third parties include purchased credit derivatives which have the same reference obligation.

(2)

The notional value is the maximum amount that a seller of credit protection would be obligated to pay, and a buyer of credit protection would receive upon occurrence of a "credit event." Movements in the value of credit default swap transactions may require the Company or the counterparty to post or receive collateral. Amounts due or owed under credit derivative contracts with an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, or "ISDA," counterparty may be offset against amounts due or owed on other credit derivative contracts with the same ISDA counterparty. As a result, the notional amount of written credit derivatives involving a particular underlying reference asset or index has been reduced (but not below zero) by the notional amount of any contracts where the Company has purchased credit protection on the same reference asset or index with the same ISDA counterparty.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of credit derivatives which includes information by sellers of credit derivatives, about each credit derivative, or each group of similar credit derivatives, including (a) the nature of the credit derivative - its term, how it arose, the events or circumstances that would require the seller to perform under the credit derivative, and the current status of the payment/performance risk of the credit derivative; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the seller could be required to make under the credit derivative; (c) the current fair value of the credit derivative; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the credit derivative, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties. A credit derivative is a derivative instrument (1) in which one or more of its underlyings are related to the credit risk of a specified entity (or a group of entities) or an index based on the credit risk of a group of entities and (2) that exposes the seller to potential loss from credit-risk-related events specified in the contract. Examples of credit derivatives within the scope of this paragraph include, but are not limited to, credit default swaps, credit spread options, and credit index products; also includes a hybrid instrument that has an embedded credit derivative (for example, but not limited to, a credit-linked note).

+ References + Details