Goodwill and other intangibles

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill and other intangibles. A summary of changes in goodwill is as follows:



	Title		Mortgage Services		Total
	($000 omitted)
Balances at January 1, 2014	198,727		33,111		231,838
Acquisitions	3,275		18,165		21,440
Disposals	—		(1,410	)	(1,410	)
Balances at December 31, 2014	202,002		49,866		251,868
Acquisitions	7,220		—		7,220
Purchase adjustments	—		(5,268	)	(5,268	)
Impairment	—		(35,749	)	(35,749	)
Disposals	(349	)	—		(349	)
Balances at December 31, 2015	208,873		8,849		217,722

The purchase adjustments recorded for 2015 were related to the remeasurement of assumed liabilities related to certain acquisitions from 2014.

The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually based on information as of June 30 of the current year or more frequently if circumstances suggest that impairment may exist. During 2015 and 2014, management utilized the qualitative assessment for the title reporting units to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of each reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. Based on that analysis, management concluded that the goodwill related to the reporting units within the title segment was not impaired.

In 2014, the Company performed a quantitative assessment of the mortgage services segment's goodwill and determined that there was no impairment of goodwill. In July 2015, the Company made the decision to exit the delinquent loan servicing activities included in the mortgage services segment. The Company based its decision to exit these operations on rapidly falling revenues, declining profit margins and the likelihood that future market demand for the related services would continue to diminish. This resulted in a review of the recoverability of goodwill related to the mortgage services segment. Accordingly, the Company performed the quantitative assessment for mortgage services' goodwill. Based on its impairment analysis using the two-step method, the Company recorded a $35.7 million impairment of mortgage services' goodwill for 2015. This impairment is presented as Impairment of goodwill in the 2015 consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive (loss) income.

The Company also performed an impairment analysis of other intangible assets within the mortgage services segment for 2015. Based on the Company's impairment review using the discounted cash flow technique to estimate fair value, the Company recorded an impairment of $0.9 million on an intangible asset. During 2014, the Company recorded an impairment of $1.7 million relating to an intangible asset of a separate business under the mortgage services segment. Further, the Company recognized in 2015 a $0.9 million impairment relating to an intangible asset under the title segment that will not be recoverable in future periods. These impairment losses are included in Investment and other (losses) gains - net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income.

The gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization and impairment of other intangibles was $43.6 million and $25.5 million, respectively, at December 31, 2015 and $43.0 million and $16.7 million, respectively, at December 31, 2014. The amortization expense recorded for these intangibles was $7.0 million, $6.2 million and $1.9 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The annual amortization expense expected to be recognized in the next five years is approximately $5.5 million in 2016, $4.6 million in 2017, $3.6 million in 2018, $2.0 million in 2019 and $1.0 million in 2020.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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