Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

11. Commitments and Contingencies

Contingent Commitments—We had commitments to make investments, primarily capital contributions to investment funds, inclusive of related party commitments discussed previously, of $13,564 million and $7,472 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. We expect most of our current commitments will be invested over the next five years; however, these commitments could become due any time upon counterparty request.

Funding Agreements—We are a member of the FHLB and, through membership, we have issued funding agreements to the FHLB in exchange for cash advances. As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had $2,001 million and $2,002 million, respectively, of FHLB funding agreements outstanding. We are required to provide collateral in excess of the funding agreement amounts outstanding, considering any discounts to the securities posted and prepayment penalties.

We have a funding agreement backed notes (FABN) program, which allows Athene Global Funding, a special-purpose, unaffiliated statutory trust, to offer its senior secured medium-term notes. Athene Global Funding uses the net proceeds from each sale to purchase one or more funding agreements from us. As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had $18,292 million and $8,822 million, respectively, of FABN funding agreements outstanding. We had $6,648 million of board-authorized FABN capacity remaining as of September 30, 2021.

During the third quarter of 2020, we established a secured funding agreement backed repurchase agreement (FABR) program, in which a special-purpose, unaffiliated entity entered into repurchase agreements with a bank and the proceeds of the repurchase agreements were used by the special-purpose entity to purchase funding agreements from us. As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had $1,000 million of FABR funding agreements outstanding.

Pledged Assets and Funds in Trust (Restricted Assets)—The total restricted assets included on the condensed consolidated balance sheets are as follows:


(In millions)	September 30, 2021		December 31, 2020
AFS securities	$	9,081	$	9,884
Trading securities	75		60
Equity securities	27		26
Mortgage loans	4,831		5,028
Investment funds	168		68
Derivative assets	92		107
Short-term investments	—		52
Other investments	100		105
Restricted cash	757		738
Total restricted assets	$	15,131	$	16,068

The restricted assets are primarily related to reinsurance trusts established in accordance with coinsurance agreements and the FHLB and FABR funding agreements described above.

Letters of Credit—We have undrawn letters of credit totaling $1,394 million as of September 30, 2021. These letters of credit were issued for our reinsurance program and expire between December 10, 2021 and June 19, 2023.

Litigation, Claims and Assessments

Corporate-owned Life Insurance (COLI) Matter – In 2000 and 2001, two insurance companies, which were subsequently merged into Athene Annuity and Life Company (AAIA), purchased broad based variable COLI policies from American General Life Insurance Company (American General) that, as of September 30, 2021, had an asset value of $423 million, and is included in other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. In January 2012, the COLI policy administrator delivered to AAIA a supplement to the existing COLI policies and advised that American General and ZC Resource Investment Trust (ZC Trust) had unilaterally implemented changes set forth in the supplement that, if effective, would: (1) potentially negatively impact the crediting rate for the policies and (2) change the exit and surrender protocols set forth in the policies. In March 2013, AAIA filed suit against American General, ZC Trust, and ZC Resource LLC in Chancery Court in Delaware, seeking, among other relief, a declaration that the changes set forth in the supplement were ineffectual and in breach of the parties’ agreement. The parties filed cross motions for judgment as a matter of law, and the court granted defendants’ motion and dismissed without prejudice on ripeness grounds. The issue that negatively impacts the crediting rate for one of the COLI policies has subsequently been triggered and, on April 3, 2018, we filed suit against the same defendants in Chancery Court in Delaware seeking substantially similar relief. Defendants moved to dismiss and the court heard oral arguments on February 13, 2019. The court issued an opinion on July 31, 2019 that did not address the merits, but found that the Chancery Court did not have jurisdiction over our claims and directed us to either amend our complaint or transfer the matter to Delaware Superior Court. The matter has been transferred to the Delaware Superior Court. Defendants renewed their motion to dismiss and the Superior Court heard oral arguments on December 18, 2019. The Superior Court issued an opinion on May 18, 2020 in which it granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion. The Superior Court denied defendants’ motion with respect to the issue that negatively impacts the crediting rate for one of the COLI policies, which issue will proceed to discovery. The Superior Court granted defendants’ motion and dismissed without prejudice on ripeness grounds claims related to the exit and surrender protocols set forth in the policies, and dismissed defendant ZC Resource LLC. If the supplement is ultimately deemed to be effective, the purported changes to the policies could impair AAIA’s ability to access the value of guarantees associated with the policies. The Superior Court issued a scheduling order providing for a July 2022 trial and the parties are currently engaged in discovery. The value of the guarantees included within the asset value reflected above is $199 million as of September 30, 2021.

Regulatory Matters – From 2015 to 2018, our US insurance subsidiaries experienced increased complaints related to the conversion and administration of the block of life insurance business acquired in connection with our acquisition of Aviva USA and reinsured to affiliates of Global Atlantic. The life insurance policies included in this block have been and are currently being administered by AllianceOne Inc. (AllianceOne), a subsidiary of DXC Technology Company, which was retained by such Global Atlantic affiliates to provide third party administration services on such policies. AllianceOne also administers a small block of annuity policies that were on Aviva USA’s legacy policy administration systems that were also converted in connection with the acquisition of Aviva USA and have experienced some similar service and administration issues, but to a lesser degree.

As a result of the difficulties experienced with respect to the administration of such policies, we have received notifications from several state regulators, including but not limited to New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS), the California Department of Insurance (CDI) and the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), indicating, in each case, that the respective regulator planned to undertake a market conduct examination or enforcement proceeding of the applicable US insurance subsidiary relating to the treatment of policyholders subject to our reinsurance agreements with affiliates of Global Atlantic and the conversion of the life and annuity policies, including the administration of such blocks by AllianceOne. We entered into consent orders with several state regulators, including the NYSDFS, the CDI and the TDI, to resolve underlying matters in the respective states. All fines and costs, including those associated with remediation plans, paid in connection with the consent orders are subject to indemnification by Global Atlantic or affiliates of Global Atlantic.

Pursuant to the terms of the reinsurance agreements between us and the relevant affiliates of Global Atlantic, the applicable affiliates of Global Atlantic have financial responsibility for the ceded life block and are subject to significant administrative service requirements, including compliance with applicable law. The agreements also provide for indemnification to us, including for administration issues.

In addition to the examinations and proceedings initiated to date, it is possible that other regulators may pursue similar formal examinations, inquiries or enforcement proceedings and that any examinations, inquiries and/or enforcement proceedings may result in fines, administrative penalties and payments to policyholders. While we do not expect the amount of any such fines, penalties or payments arising from these matters to be material to our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, it is possible that such amounts could be material.