Financial Derivatives (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

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, 2017 and 2016 are summarized in the tables below:

Year Ended December 31, 2017:



		Year Ended December 31, 2017
Derivative Type	Primary Risk Exposure	Net Realized Gain/(Loss)⁽¹⁾			Change in Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss)⁽²⁾
(In thousands)
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	$	(601	)	$	(263	)
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	(5,291		)	(817		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	(3,336		)	(459		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bonds	Credit	205			907
Total return swaps	Equity Market/Credit	(1,825		)	149
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rate	(1,171		)	571
Futures	Interest Rate/Currency	(195		)	(423		)
Forwards	Currency	(6,390		)	(18		)
Warrants	Equity Market	(100		)	(5		)
Mortgage loan purchase commitments	Interest Rate	—			31
Options	Credit/Interest Rate/Equity Market	—			10
Total		$	(18,704	)	$	(317	)


(1)	Includes gain/(loss) on foreign currency transactions on derivatives in the amount of $(0.1) million, 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 $(0.2) million, which is included on the Consolidated Statement of Operations in Change in net unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency translation.

Year Ended December 31, 2016:



		Year Ended December 31, 2016
Derivative Type	Primary Risk Exposure	Net Realized Gain/(Loss)⁽¹⁾			Change in Net Unrealized Gain/(Loss)⁽²⁾
(In thousands)
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	$	719		$	(703	)
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	3,935			(3,349		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	(36,195		)	(4,044		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bonds	Credit	(14		)	712
Total return swaps	Equity Market/Credit	(12,987		)	4,427
Interest rate swaps	Interest Rate	(2,912		)	(1,983		)
Futures	Interest Rate/ Equity Market	(84		)	456
Forwards	Currency	4,093			(1,580		)
Warrants	Equity Market	(50		)	6
Mortgage loan purchase commitments	Interest Rates	—			(23		)
Options	Credit/Interest Rate/Equity Market	7,174			(413		)
Total		$	(36,321	)	$	(6,494	)


(1)	Includes gain/(loss) on foreign currency transactions on derivatives in the amount of $0.3 million, 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, which is included on the Consolidated Statement of Operations in Change in net unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency translation.

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)
Credit default swaps on asset-backed securities	Credit	$	(3,066	)	$	2,133
Credit default swaps on asset-backed indices	Credit	(714		)	(285		)
Credit default swaps on corporate bond indices	Credit	(8,059		)	7,503
Credit default swaps on corporate bonds	Credit	(1,005		)	694
Total return swaps	Equity Market/Credit	1,838			(4,564		)
Interest rate swaps⁽³⁾	Interest Rates	(9,603		)	1,983
Futures	Interest Rates/Equity Market	708			(676		)
Forwards	Currency	4,738			377
Mortgage loan purchase commitments	Interest Rates	—			(8		)
Options	Credit/ Interest Rates/Equity Market	5,048			1,623
Total		$	(10,115	)	$	8,780


(1)	Includes foreign currency translation on derivatives in the amount of $0.2 million, 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, 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.

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, 2017 and 2016:



Derivative Type	Year Ended December 31, 2017		Year Ended December 31, 2016
	(In thousands)
Interest rate swaps	$	1,306,853	$	1,731,368
Credit default swaps	531,008		1,586,923
Total return swaps	19,760		113,628
Futures	48,244		371,900
Options	94,415		357,260
Forwards	76,784		80,513
Warrants	378		1,640
Mortgage loan purchase commitments	1,585		6,143

Schedule of Credit Derivatives

Written credit derivatives held by the Company at December 31, 2017 and 2016, are summarized below:



Credit Derivatives	December 31, 2017			December 31, 2016
(In thousands)
Fair Value of Written Credit Derivatives, Net	$	(4,770	)	$	(1,551	)
Fair Value of Purchased Credit Derivatives Offsetting Written Credit Derivatives with Third Parties ⁽¹⁾	$	(3,582	)	$	4,552
Notional Value of Written Credit Derivatives ⁽²⁾	$	177,588		$	117,476
Notional Value of Purchased Credit Derivatives Offsetting Written Credit Derivatives with Third Parties ⁽¹⁾	$	(88,400	)	$	(68,357	)


(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 value of written credit derivatives involving a particular underlying reference asset or index has been reduced (but not below zero) by the notional value 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