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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
Form 10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
Or
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-38727
PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(818) 224-7442
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value PFSI New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒No☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☒No☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of June 30, 2021 the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Common Stock, $0.0001 par value (“common stock”), held by non-affiliates was $2,465,484,895 based on the closing price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.
As of February 21, 2022, the number of outstanding shares of common stock of the registrant was 55,422,903.
Documents Incorporated by Reference
Document Parts Into Which Incorporated
Definitive Proxy Statement for2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders Part III
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PENNYMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
FORM 10-K
December 31, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 3
PART I
Item 1 Business 6
Item 1A Risk Factors 16
Item 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 45
Item 2 Properties 45
Item 3 Legal Proceedings 45
Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 45
PART II
Item 6 Reserved 46
Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 72
Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 74
Item 9A Controls and Procedures 74
Item 9B Other Information 76
PART III
Item 10 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 76
Item 11 Executive Compensation 76
Item 14 Principal Accounting Fees and Services 77
PART IV
Item 15 Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 78
Item 16 Form 10-K Summary 88
Signatures 93
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “intend,” “expect,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “approximately,” “believe,” “could,” “project,” “predict,” “continue,” “plan” or other similar words or expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, discuss future expectations, describe future plans and strategies, contain financial and operating projections or state other forward-looking information. Examples of forward-looking statements include the following:
Our ability to predict results or the actual effect of future events, actions, plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, our actual results and performance could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control that could cause actual results to differ significantly from management’s expectations. Some of these factors are discussed below.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider the following uncertainties and risks, as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed elsewhere in this Report and as set forth in Item IA. of Part I hereof and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated include, but are not limited to:
● changes to government mortgage modification programs;
● foreclosure delays and changes in foreclosure practices;
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● changes in macroeconomic and U.S. real estate market conditions;
● difficulties inherent in growing loan production volume;
● changes in prevailing interest rates;
● our substantial amount of indebtedness;
● increases in loan delinquencies and defaults;
● the effect of public opinion on our reputation;
● our recent growth;
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● our ability to detect misconduct and fraud;
● our ability to mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents;
● our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders; and
Other factors that could also cause results to differ from our expectations may not be described in this Report or any other document. Each of these factors could by itself, or together with one or more other factors, adversely affect our business, results of operations and/or financial condition.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.
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PART I
Item 1. Business
The following description of our business should be read in conjunction with the information included elsewhere in this Report. This description contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ significantly from the projections and results discussed in the forward-looking statements due to the factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report. References in this Report to “we,” “our,” “us,” and the “Company” refer to PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (“PFSI”) and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Our Company
We are a specialty financial services firm with a comprehensive mortgage platform and integrated business primarily focused on the production and servicing of U.S. residential mortgage loans (activities which we refer to as mortgage banking) and the management of investments related to the U.S. mortgage market. We believe that our operating capabilities, specialized expertise, access to long-term investment capital, and our management’s experience across all aspects of the mortgage business will allow us to profitably grow these activities over time and capitalize on other related opportunities as they arise in the future.
We operate and control all of the business and affairs and consolidate the financial results of Private National Mortgage Acceptance Company, LLC (“PNMAC”) and its subsidiaries described below:
We conduct our business in three segments: production, servicing (together, production and servicing comprise our mortgage banking activities) and investment management.
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Following is a summary of our segments’ results:
Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Net revenues:
Income (loss) before income taxes:
Total assets at year end:
Mortgage Banking
Loan Production
Our loan production segment sources new prime credit quality first-lien residential conventional and government-insured or guaranteed mortgage loans through three channels: correspondent production, consumer direct lending and broker direct lending as described below.
Correspondent Production
In correspondent production we manage, on behalf of PMT and for our own account, the purchase from non-affiliates of mortgage loans that have been underwritten to investor guidelines. Our correspondent loans are directed to each entity based on the guarantor of the mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) created from the loans: our production focus has been on loans insured or guaranteed by the FHA, VA or USDA for sale into MBS guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, whereas PMT’s production focus has been on loans that can be sold into MBS guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
This arrangement exists, in part, because PMT is not approved as an issuer of Ginnie Mae guaranteed MBS. As a result, PMT sells the government-insured or guaranteed loans that it purchases from correspondent sellers to us and we pay PMT a sourcing fee ranging from one to two basis points, generally based on the average number of calendar days that PMT holds the loans before our purchase. We generally pool the government-insured or guaranteed loans into Ginnie Mae guaranteed MBS and then sell such MBS to institutional investors.
In our correspondent production activities, for loans we source for our own account, we earn loan origination fees from the correspondent sellers, interest income on the loans during the time we hold such loans, gains or losses from the date we make a commitment to purchase the loans through the sale of these loans, and, in sales to entities other than PMT, we generally retain and recognize the fair value of the contractual rights to service the loans on behalf of the purchaser of the loans. These contracts are referred to as mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”).
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In our loan fulfillment activities in support of PMT’s correspondent production activities, we earn fulfillment fees and tax service fees. We may also serve as a correspondent seller of newly originated loans from our consumer direct and broker direct lending channels to PMT under a mortgage loan purchase agreement. When we sell loans to PMT, PMT obtains the mortgage servicing rights relating to such loans. As such, our gains on sale of loans to PMT are primarily cash gains.
Between 2017 and early 2020, we sold newly originated conventional conforming loans to PMT as PMT had available a selling arrangement that offered us more attractive pricing for certain conventional conforming loans than was otherwise available to us. We ceased such sales to PMT during the second quarter of 2020 as the more attractive pricing was no longer available to us. However, we may in the future enter into other sales arrangements with PMT where such arrangements are attractive to us and approved by the related party matters committees of both companies’ board of directors or trustees, as applicable. Both companies’ related party matters committees are comprised of independent directors or trustees as applicable, from the respective board.
Consumer Direct Lending
Through our consumer direct lending channel, we originate mortgage loans on a national basis. Our consumer direct model relies on the Internet and call center-based staff to acquire and interact with customers across the country. We do not have a “brick and mortar” branch network.
In our consumer direct lending activities, we earn loan origination fees from the borrower, interest income during the time we hold the loan before sale, gains or losses from the date we make a commitment to fund the loan through the sale of these loans, and, in sales to entities other than to PMT, we retain and recognize the fair value of the associated MSRs. To the extent we refinance loans that we subservice for PMT where PMT owns the related MSRs or excess servicing spread, we are generally required to transfer and convey to PMT a recapture fee payable in cash.
Broker Direct Lending
In broker direct lending, we obtain loan application packages from nonaffiliated mortgage loan brokers, underwrite and fund the resulting loans for sale. In our broker direct lending activities, we earn interest income, gains or losses from the date we make a commitment to fund the loan through the sale of these loans, and, in sales to entities other than PMT, we retain and recognize the fair value of the associated MSRs.
Our loan production activity is summarized below:
Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)
UPB of loans purchased and originated for sale through our:
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The effect of our loan production transactions with PMT on our financial statements are summarized below:
Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Net gains on loans held for sale at fair value:
Net gains on loans held for sale to PMT $ — $ 81,295 $ 190,416
Loan Servicing
Our loan servicing segment performs loan administration, collection, and default management activities, including the collection and remittance of loan payments; responds to customer inquiries; provides accounting for principal and interest; holds custodial (impounded) funds for the payment of property taxes and insurance premiums; counsels delinquent borrowers; administers loss mitigation activities, including modification and forbearance programs; and supervises foreclosures and property dispositions.
We service loans both as the owner of MSRs and mortgage servicing liabilities (“MSLs”) and as the subservicer on behalf of PMT.
The UPB of our loan servicing portfolio is summarized below:
December 31,
(in thousands)
Mortgage servicing rights and Mortgage servicing liabilities:
Our responsibilities and risks relating to loans we service in arrangements where we own the MSRs or MSLs differ from those where we act as subservicer for the owner of the servicing rights. As the owner of the servicing rights:
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As the subservicer for the owner of servicing rights, we do not carry MSRs or MSLs on our balance sheet and therefore do not recognize changes in the fair value of MSRs or MSLs and are generally not responsible for financing the advance of corporate funds to protect the loan owners’ interest in the collateral securing such loans. As a result, the fees we earn from such arrangements are generally less on a per-loan basis than those we earn from holding MSRs and MSLs.
Following is a summary of our net loan servicing fees:
Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Net loan servicing fees:
From non-affiliates:
Loan servicing fees:
Effect of MSRs and MSLs:
From affiliates:
Average UPB of loan serviced for:
(1) Excluding PFSI-owned loans
Investment Management
We are an investment manager through our subsidiary, PCM, which provides investment management services to PMT. We earn management fees as a percentage of PMT’s net assets and may earn incentive compensation based on PMT’s investment performance.
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Following is a summary of our management fee revenue:
Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Performance incentive 3,007 — 7,189
Human Capital
Our long-term growth and success is highly dependent upon our employees and our ability to maintain a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds, ideas and perspectives. As part of these efforts, we strive to offer competitive compensation and benefits, foster a community where everyone feels a greater sense of belonging and purpose, and provide employees with the opportunity to give back and make an impact in the communities where we live and serve.
We had over 6,900 domestic employees as of the end of fiscal year 2021. In addition, as of the end of fiscal year 2021, our workforce was 51.7%% female and 48.3% male, and the ethnicity of our workforce was 42.9% White, 22.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Black or African American, 11.5% Asian and 6.1% other (which includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and “Two or More Races”).
Recruiting and Employee Retention
We believe in attracting, developing and engaging the best talent, while providing a supportive work environment that prioritizes the health and safety of our employees. Our compensation programs are designed to motivate and reward employees who possess the necessary skills to support our business strategy and create long-term value for our stockholders. Employee compensation may include base salary, annual cash incentives, and long-term equity incentives, as well as life and health insurance and 401(k) plan matching contributions.
Employees receive regular business and compliance training to help further enhance their career development objectives. For example, the average employee business and compliance training completion rate was 97% company-wide in 2021. We also actively manage enterprise-wide and divisional mentoring programs and have partnered with an external vendor to establish a comprehensive, fully integrated wellness program designed to enhance the productivity of our employees. We also support the U.S. military through our continued focus on recruiting and creating opportunities for veterans. For example, we maintain the SERVE (Support & Engagement for Reservist & Veteran Employees) Business Resource Group (“BRG”) to further our efforts to attract, develop and engage an inclusive community of veterans and their families.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We believe that building a diverse, equitable and inclusive, high-performing workforce where our employees bring varied perspectives and experiences to work every day creates a positive influence in our workplace, community and business operations. Our Board of Directors, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Compensation Committee, and Risk Committee provide regular oversight of our corporate sustainability program, including our diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives. We have also taken proactive measures to strategically and sustainably advance equity in the workplace through the establishment of several BRGs, a diversity hiring initiative, mentorship programs, and external partnerships with organizations such as the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America. We also established leadership goals and created customized initiatives that focus on our continued effort to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in management positions throughout our company and its business divisions. As it relates to our inclusive culture, we established the following BRGs to emphasize career growth, networking, and learning opportunities for employees and allies with shared backgrounds and experiences: the BOLD BRG (for Black and African American employees and allies), the HOLA BRG (for Hispanic, Latino and Latinx employees and allies, the InspirASIAN BRG
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(for our Asian American and Pacific Islander employees and allies), the Pennymac PRIDE BRG (for our LGBTQIA employees and allies), the SERVE BRG (for our veteran and military family employees and allies), and the wEMRG BRG (for our women employees and allies). We also foster a more inclusive culture through a variety of initiatives, including corporate training, special events, community outreach and corporate philanthropy.
Community Involvement
We have a corporate philanthropy program that is governed by a philosophy of giving that prioritizes the support of causes and issues that are important in our local communities, and drives a culture of employee engagement and collaboration throughout our organization. We are committed to empowering our employees to be a positive influence in the communities where we live and serve, and believe that this commitment supports our efforts to attract and engage employees and improve retention. Our philanthropy program consists of three key components: an employee matching gift program, a charitable grants program and a corporate sponsorship program. Our five philanthropic focus areas are: community development and equitable housing, financial literacy and economic inclusion, human and social services, health and medical research, and environmental sustainability. We have established a separate donor advised fund to facilitate donations to various local and national charitable organizations and have provided funding to several charitable organizations located near our office sites and national organizations that support missions such as sustainable homeownership, mortgage and rental assistance, food insecurity, disaster recovery, family and child advocacy, and community empowerment.
U.S. Mortgage Market
The U.S. residential mortgage market is one of the largest financial markets in the world, with approximately $14.1 trillion of outstanding debt as of September 30, 2021. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, first lien mortgage loan origination volume was approximately $4.8 trillion in 2021. Many of the largest financial institutions, primarily banks which have traditionally held the majority of the market share in mortgage origination and servicing, have reduced their participation in the mortgage market creating opportunities for non-bank participants.
The residential mortgage industry is characterized by high barriers to entry, including the necessity for approvals required to sell loans to and service loans for the Agencies, state licensing requirements for non-federally chartered banks, sophisticated infrastructure, technology, risk management, and processes required for successful operations, and financial capital requirements.
Our Business Strategies
Our business growth strategies include:
Consumer Direct Lending
We expect to grow our consumer direct lending business over time by leveraging our growing servicing portfolio through the recapture of existing customers for refinance and purchase-money loans as well as increasing our non-portfolio originations. As our servicing portfolio grows, we will have a greater number of leads to pursue, which we believe will lead to greater origination activity through our consumer direct business. As of December 31, 2021, we serviced 2.1 million loans. At the same time, we are making significant investments in technology, personnel and marketing to increase our non-portfolio originations. We believe that our national call center model and our technology will enable us to drive origination process efficiencies and best-in-class customer service.
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Broker Direct Lending
The broker lending channel involves the underwriting and funding of mortgage loans sourced by mortgage loan brokers and other financial intermediaries. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, the broker lending channel represented approximately 15% of U.S. residential mortgage originations in 2021. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, we funded $16.8 billion, $12.2 billion and $3.8 billion of mortgage loans, respectively, through our broker direct channel. We plan on growing our mortgage loan volume by adding broker relationships and offering our mortgage loan brokers access to our technology through a dedicated portal.
Correspondent Lending
We expect to support our correspondent production market share by expanding the number and types of sellers from which we purchase loans and increasing the proportion of our sellers’ production volumes that we purchase as we continue to expand to the loan products and services we offer. We believe that we are well positioned to continue taking advantage of this opportunity based on our management expertise in the correspondent production business, our relationships with correspondent sellers, and our supporting systems and processes.
Mortgage Loan Servicing Portfolio
We expect to grow our servicing portfolio through loan production activities, as our correspondent government-insured production and consumer and broker direct lending add new servicing for owned MSRs, and correspondent conventional production adds new subservicing. We or PMT may also grow our servicing portfolio through acquisitions. In 2021, our correspondent, consumer direct and broker direct loan production totaled $234.6 billion in UPB.
Expansion into New Markets and Products
We regularly evaluate opportunities to grow our business, including expansion into new markets and providing additional services to our customers directly or through external partnerships. We also continue to develop new products to satisfy demand from customers in each of our production channels and respond to changing circumstances in the market for mortgage-related financing.
Compliance and Regulatory
Our business is subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation. The CFPB was established on July 21, 2010 under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The CFPB is responsible for ensuring consumers are provided with timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions, federal consumer financial laws are enforced and consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices and from discrimination. Although the CFPB’s actions may improve consumer protection, such actions also have resulted in a meaningful increase in costs to consumers and financial services companies including mortgage originators and servicers.
Our loan production and loan servicing operations are regulated at the state level by state licensing authorities and administrative agencies. We, along with certain PNMAC employees who engage in regulated activities, must apply for licensing as a mortgage banker or lender, loan servicer and debt collector pursuant to applicable state law. These state licensing requirements typically require an application process, the payment of fees, background checks and administrative review. Our servicing operations are licensed (or exempt or otherwise not required to be licensed) to service mortgage loans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands. Our consumer direct lending business is licensed to originate loans in 49 states and the District of Columbia. From time to time, we receive requests from states and Agencies and various investors for records, documents and information regarding our policies, procedures and practices regarding our loan production and loan servicing business activities, and undergo periodic examinations by federal and state regulatory agencies. We incur significant ongoing costs to comply with these licensing and examination requirements.
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The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the “SAFE Act”) requires all states to enact laws that require all individuals acting in the United States as mortgage loan originators to be individually licensed or registered if they intend to offer mortgage loan products. These licensing requirements include enrollment in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, application to state regulators for individual licenses and the completion of pre-licensing education, annual education and the successful completion of both national and state exams.
We must comply with a number of federal consumer protection laws, including, among others:
Many of these laws are further impacted by the SAFE Act and implementation of new rules by the CFPB.
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Our senior management team has established a comprehensive compliance management system ("CMS") that is designed to ensure compliance with applicable mortgage origination and servicing laws and regulations. The components of our CMS include: (a) oversight by senior management and our Board of Directors to ensure that our compliance culture, guidance, and resources are appropriate; (b) a compliance program to ensure that our policies, training and monitoring activities are complete and comprehensive; (c) a complaint management program to ensure that consumer complaints are appropriately addressed and that any required actions are implemented on a timely basis; and (d) independent oversight to ensure that our CMS is functioning as designed.
An important component of the CMS is management’s Mortgage Regulatory Compliance Committee (“MRCC”). This committee oversees the CMS and supports our cultural initiatives that reinforce the importance of regulatory compliance. The MRCC also monitors changes in the internal and external environment, approves mortgage compliance policies, monitors compliance with those policies and ensures any required remediation is implemented on a timely basis. The MRCC has identified individuals throughout the organization to oversee specific areas of compliance. MRCC membership includes senior management from all areas of the Company impacted by mortgage compliance laws and regulations. The MRCC meets on a regular basis throughout the year.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, as well as confidentiality and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies. We hold or have otherwise applied for various registered trademarks, including trademarks with respect to the name Pennymac and various additional designs and word marks relating to the Pennymac name. Depending upon the jurisdiction, trademarks generally are valid as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained. We generally intend to renew our trademarks as they come up for renewal. Our other intellectual property includes proprietary know-how and technological innovations, such as our proprietary workflow driven cloud based servicing system, as well as proprietary pricing engines, loan-level analyticssystems and other trade secrets that we have developed to maintain our competitive position.
Competition
Given the diverse and specialized nature of our businesses, we do not believe we have a direct competitor for the totality of our business. We compete with a number of nationally-focused companies in each of our businesses.
In our loan production and servicing segments, we compete with large financial institutions, including the cash windows of the GSEs, and with other independent residential mortgage loan producers and servicers, such as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Rocket Mortgage, Mr. Cooper and United Wholesale Mortgage. In our loan production segment, we compete primarily on the basis of customer service, marketing penetration, customer network, product offerings, technical knowledge, manufacturing quality, speed of execution, rate and fees. In our servicing segment, we compete primarily on the basis of experience in the residential loan servicing business, quality and efficiency of execution and servicing performance. In our investment management segment, we compete for capital with both traditional and alternative investment managers. We compete primarily on the basis of historical track record of risk-adjusted returns, experience of investment management team, the return profile of prospective investment opportunities and on the level of fees and expenses.
Available Information
Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and amendments to those reports filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available free of charge through the investor relations section of our website at www.pennymacfinancial.com as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at www.sec.gov. The above references to our website and the SEC’s website do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on those websites and should not be considered part of this document.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Summary Risk Factors
We are subject to a number of risks that, if realized, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. Some of our more significant challenges and risks include, but are not limited to, the following, which are described in greater detail below:
● Our earnings may decrease because of changes in prevailing interest rates.
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● Our risk management efforts may not be effective.
Risk Factors
In addition to the other information set forth in this Report, you should carefully consider the following factors, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations in future periods. The risks described below are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations in future periods.
Risks Related to Our Mortgage Banking Segment
Regulatory Risks
Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic, inclusive of any variants, has created unprecedented economic, financial and public health disruptions that have adversely affected, and are likely to continue to adversely affect, our business, financial condition and results of operations. The extent to which COVID-19 continues to negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), which allows borrowers with federally-backed loans to request temporary payment forbearance in response to the increased borrower hardships resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the CARES Act and other forbearance requirements, we expect to experience delinquencies in our servicing portfolio that may require us to finance
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substantial amounts of advances of principal and interest payments to the investors holding those loans, as well as advances of property taxes, insurance premiums and other expenses to protect investors’ interests in the properties securing the loans. Prepayment activity has thus far been sufficient to cover principal and interest payment advances required under the CARES Act and other requirements, however, in the future prepayment activity may be insufficient to cover required principal and interest advances. The CARES Act and other forbearance requirements have reduced our servicing fee income and increased our servicing expenses due to the increased number of delinquent loans, significant levels of forbearance that we have granted and continue to grant, as well as the resolution of loans that we expect to ultimately default as the result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Future servicing advances will be driven by a number of factors, including: the number of borrower delinquencies, including those resulting from payment forbearance; the amount of time borrowers remain delinquent; and the level of successful resolution of delinquent payments, all of which will be impacted by the pace at which the economy recovers from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As of December 31, 2021, 1.3% of loans in our predominantly government-insured or guaranteed MSR portfolio were in forbearance plans and delinquent, resulting in an increase in the level of servicing advances we have been required to make due to borrower delinquencies. Servicing advances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could have a significant adverse impact on our cash flows and could also have a detrimental effect on our business and financial condition.
Financial markets have experienced federal government intervention to lower the federal funds rate and support market liquidity by purchasing assets in many financial markets, including the mortgage-backed securities market. The CARES Act and other forbearance requirements have negatively impacted the fair value of our servicing assets and further market volatility or economic weakness may result in additional reductions in the value of our servicing assets and make it increasingly difficult to optimize our hedging activities. Our liquidity and/or regulatory capital could also be adversely impacted by volatility and disruptions in the capital and credit markets. If we fail to meet or satisfy any of the covenants in our repurchase agreements or other financing arrangements as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would be in default under these agreements, which could result in a cross-default or cross-acceleration under other financing arrangements, and our lenders could elect to declare outstanding amounts due and payable (or such amounts may automatically become due and payable), terminate their commitments, require the posting of additional collateral and enforce their respective interests against existing collateral.
We may have difficulty accessing debt and equity capital on attractive terms, or at all, as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may adversely affect our access to capital necessary to fund our operations or address maturing liabilities on a timely basis. This includes renewals of our existing credit facilities with our lenders who may be adversely impacted by the volatility and dislocations in the financial markets and may not be willing or able to continue to extend us credit on the same terms, or on favorable terms, or at all.
Our business could be disrupted if we are unable to operate due to changing governmental restrictions such as travel bans and quarantines placed or reinstituted on our employees or operations, including, successfully operating our business from remote locations, ensuring the protection of our employees’ health and maintaining our information technology infrastructure. Further, increased operational expenses to address these restrictions and widespread employee illnesses could negatively affect staffing within our various businesses and geographies.
Federal, state, and local executive, legislative and regulatory responses to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are rapidly evolving, may be inconsistent and conflict in scope or application, and may be subject to change without advance notice. These regulatory responses may impose additional compliance obligations, and may extend existing CARES Act and other forbearance requirements. In addition, the CARES Act and other federal, state and local regulations are subject to interpretation given the existing ambiguities in the rules and regulations, which may result in future class action and other litigation risk.
The outcome of the COVID-19 related governmental measures are unknown and they may not be sufficient to address future market dislocations or avert severe and prolonged reductions in economic activity. We may also face increased risks of disputes with our business partners, litigation and governmental and regulatory scrutiny as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scope and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of the extraordinary measures put in place to address it, including as to the effectiveness of vaccines and efforts to widely distribute them, are currently unknown. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the economy may not fully
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recover for some time and we may be materially and adversely affected by a prolonged recession or economic downturn. Further, additional vaccine and testing mandates may be announced in jurisdictions in which we operate our business, and there could be potential conflicts with state and federal mandates. Requirements to mandate COVID-19 vaccination of our workforce or require our unvaccinated employees to be tested could result in labor disruptions, employee attrition and difficulty securing future labor needs.
To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business, financial condition and results of operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Item 1A.
Failure to successfully modify, resell or refinance early buyout loans or defaults of the early buyout loans beyond expected levels may adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the number of Ginnie Mae loans that are seriously delinquent in our Ginnie Mae MSR portfolio. As a mortgage servicer, we have an early buyout repurchase option for loans at least three months delinquent in our Ginnie Mae MSR portfolio. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we have repurchased $20.1 billion delinquent Ginnie Mae loans from our Ginnie Mae MSR portfolio. Purchasing delinquent Ginnie Mae loans provides us with an alternative to our mortgage servicing obligation of advancing principal and interest at the coupon rate of the related Ginnie Mae security.
While our EBO program reduces the cost of servicing the Ginnie Mae loans, it may also accelerate loss recognition when the loans are repurchased because we are required to write off accumulated non-reimbursable interest advances and other costs at the time of repurchase. After purchasing delinquent Ginnie Mae loans, we expect to repool many of the delinquent loans into another Ginnie Mae guaranteed security upon the delinquent loans becoming current either through the borrower’s reperformance or through the completion of a loan modification; however, there is no guarantee that any delinquent loan will reperform or be modified or resold.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as changing government regulations, including Ginnie Mae’s 2020 regulations requiring reperforming loan borrowers to make six months of timely payments in certain circumstances before a loan can be repooled into another Ginnie Mae guaranteed security, has made estimating the timing and amount of the loans expected to be modified, resold or refinanced more difficult. Failure to successfully modify, resell or refinance our repurchased Ginnie Mae loans or if a significant portion of the repurchased Ginnie Mae loans default may adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We operate in a highly regulated industry and the continually changing federal, state and local laws and regulations could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We are required to comply with a wide array of federal, state and local laws and regulations that regulate, among other things, the manner in which we conduct our businesses. These regulations directly impact our business and require constant compliance, monitoring and internal and external audits and examinations by federal and state regulators. Our failure to operate effectively and in compliance with any of these laws, regulations and rules could subject us to lawsuits or governmental actions and damage our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. In addition, our failure to comply with these laws, regulations and rules may result in increased costs of doing business, reduced payments by borrowers, modification of the original terms of mortgage loans, permanent forgiveness of debt, delays in the foreclosure process, increased servicing advances, litigation, reputational damage, enforcement actions, and repurchase and indemnification obligations. Further, we may be required to pay substantial penalties imposed by our regulators due to compliance errors, or we may lose our licenses to originate and/or service loans.
We must also comply with a number of federal, state and local consumer protection and state foreclosure laws. These statutes apply to loan origination, servicing, debt collection, marketing, use of credit reports, safeguarding of non-public, personally identifiable information about our clients, foreclosure and claims handling, investment of and interest payments on escrow balances and escrow payment features, and mandate certain disclosures and notices to customers.
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Because we are not a federally chartered depository institution, we generally do not benefit from federal pre-emption of state mortgage loan banking, loan servicing or debt collection licensing and regulatory requirements and must comply with multiple state licensing and compliance requirements. These state rules and regulations generally provide for, but are not limited to: originator, servicer and debt collector licensing requirements, requirements as to the form and content of contracts and other documentation, employee licensing and background check requirements, fee requirements, interest rate limits, and disclosure and record-keeping requirements.
Regulatory agencies and consumer advocacy groups are becoming more aggressive in asserting fair lending, fair housing and other claims that the practices of lenders and loan servicers result in a disparate impact on protected classes. Antidiscrimination statutes, such as the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, prohibit creditors from discriminating against loan applicants and borrowers based on certain characteristics, such as race, religion and national origin. Variousfederal regulatory agencies and departments take the position that these laws apply not only to intentional discrimination, but also to neutral practices that have a disparate impact on a group that shares a characteristic that a creditor may not consider in making credit decisions (i.e., creditor or servicing practices that have a disproportionately negative affect on a protected class of individuals).
The failure of our correspondent sellers to comply with any applicable laws, regulations and rules may also result in these adverse consequences. We have in place a due diligence program designed to assess areas of risk with respect to loans we acquire from such correspondent sellers. However, we may not detect every violation of law and, to the extent any correspondent sellers, third party originators, servicers or brokers with which we do business fail to comply with applicable laws or regulations and any of their mortgage loans or MSRs become part of our assets, it could subject us, as an assignee or purchaser of the related mortgage loans or MSRs, to monetary penalties or other losses. While we may have contractual rights to seek indemnity or repurchase from certain of these lenders, third party originators, servicers or brokers, if any of them are unable to fulfill their indemnity or repurchase obligations to us to a material extent, our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Our service providers and other vendors are also required to operate in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and rules. Our failure to adequately manage service providers and other vendors to mitigate risks of noncompliance with applicable laws may also have these negative results.
Federal and state administrations could enact significant policy changes increasing regulatory scrutiny and enforcement actions in our industry. While it is not possible to predict when and whether significant policy or regulatory changes would occur, any such changes on the federal, state or local level could significantly impact, among other things, our operating expenses, the availability of mortgage financing, interest rates, consumer spending, the economy and the geopolitical landscape. To the extent that the current government administration takes action by proposing and/or passing regulatory policies that could have a negative impact on our industry, such actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”) and Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) have been reviewing whether state chartered nonbank mortgage servicers should be subject to “safety and soundness” standards similar to those imposed by federal law on insured depository institutions, even though nonbank mortgage servicers do not have any federally insured deposit accounts. For example, on July 26, 2021, the CSBS released model state regulatory prudential standards for state oversight of nonbank mortgage servicers. The model CSBS prudential standards include revised minimum net worth, capital ratio and liquidity standards similar to existing FHFA requirements and require servicers to maintain sufficient allowable assets to cover normal operating expenses in addition to the amounts required for servicing expenses. In addition, the FSOC has encouraged state regulators to work to develop prudential and corporate governance standards for nonbank mortgage servicers and has issued guidance describing the process FSOC would follow if it were to consider making a determination to subject a nonbank financial company to supervision by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and prudential standards. To the extent any such state regulators impose new minimum net worth, capital ratio and liquidity standards that are overly burdensome, such actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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New CFPB or state rules and regulations or more stringent enforcement of existing rules and regulations by these regulators could result in enforcement actions, fines, penalties and the inherent reputational risk that results from such actions.
The CFPB has regulatory authority over certain aspects of our business as a result of our residential mortgage banking activities, including, without limitation, the authority to conduct investigations, bring enforcement actions, impose monetary penalties, require remediation of practices, pursue administrative proceedings or litigation, and obtain cease and desist orders for violations of applicable federal consumer financial laws. The current CFPB administration has stated its intention to aggressively supervise, investigate and, where it deems appropriate, bring enforcement actions against servicers the CFPB believes are engaged in activities that violate federal laws and regulations. In addition, examinations by state regulators and enforcement actions in the residential mortgage and servicing sectors by state attorneys general have increased and may continue to increase.Failure to comply with the CFPB and state laws, rules or regulations to which we are subject, whether actual or alleged, could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our failure to comply with the laws, rules or regulations to which we are subject, whether actual or alleged, would expose us to fines, penalties or potential litigation liabilities, including costs, settlements and judgments, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
We are highly dependent on U.S. government-sponsored entities and government agencies, and any organizational or pricing changes at such entities or their regulators could materially and adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to generate revenues through mortgage loan sales depends on programs administered by GSEs, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government agencies, including Ginnie Mae, and others that facilitate the issuance of MBS in the secondary market. We originate loans directly with borrowers and assist PMT in acquiring loans from mortgage lenders through our correspondent production activities that qualify under existing standards for inclusion in MBS issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae. We, or PMT, also derive other material financial benefits from our Agency relationships, including the ability to avoid certain loan inventory finance costs through streamlined loan funding and sale procedures.
A number of legislative proposals have been introduced in recent years that would wind down or phase out the GSEs, including a proposal by the prior federal administration to end the conservatorship and privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. On November 18, 2020 the FHFA finalized new regulatory capital rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that requires them to increase their capital to $280 billion. FHFA did not specify how the new regulatory capital requirements will be achieved or a timeframe for meeting the capital target, however, any increase in guaranty fees or other costs imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise additional capital may have a negative impact on the mortgage market and could reduce Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s future role in the mortgage industry. It is not possible to predict the scope and nature of the actions that the U.S. government, including the current federal administration, will ultimately take with respect to the GSEs. Any changes in laws and regulations affecting the relationship between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their regulators or the U.S. federal government, and any changes in leadership at these entities, could adversely affect our business and prospects. Any discontinuation of, or significant reduction in, the operation of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or any significant adverse change in their capital structure, financial condition, activity levels in the primary or secondary mortgage markets or in underwriting criteria could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
Our ability to generate revenue from newly originated loans that we assist PMT in acquiring through its correspondent production business is also highly dependent on the fact that the Agencies have not historically acquired such loans directly from mortgage lenders, but have instead relied on banks and non-bank aggregators such as us to acquire, aggregate and securitize or otherwise sell such loans to investors in the secondary market. Certain of the Agencies have approved new and smaller lenders that traditionally may not have qualified for such approvals. To the extent that these mortgage lenders choose to sell directly to the Agencies rather than through loan aggregators like us,
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the number of loans available for purchase by aggregators is reduced, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, under certain Agency capital rules, loan aggregators such as PMT that we assist have higher capital requirements and may incur higher Agency fees for third party originated loans that PMT aggregates and delivers to the Agencies as compared to individual loans delivered by third party mortgage lenders directly to the Agencies’ cash windows without the assistance of a loan aggregator. To the extent the Agencies increase the number of purchases and sales directly for their own accounts, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We are required to hold various Agency approvals in order to conduct our business and there is no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain those Agency approvals or that changes in Agency guidelines will not materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We are required to hold certain Agency approvals in order to sell mortgage loans to the Agencies and service such mortgage loans on their behalf. Our failure to satisfy the various requirements necessary to obtain and maintain such Agency approvals over time would restrict our direct business activities and could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We are also required to follow specific guidelines that impact the way that we originate and service Agency loans. A significant change in these guidelines that has the effect of decreasing the fees we charge or requires us to expend additional resources in providing mortgage services could decrease our revenues or increase our costs, which would also adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. For example, the FHFA has directed the GSEs to align their guidelines for servicing delinquent mortgages and assess compensatory penalties against servicers in connection with the failure to meet specified timelines relating to delinquent loans and foreclosure proceedings, and other breaches of servicing obligations. Our failure to operate efficiently and effectively within the prevailing regulatory framework and in accordance with the applicable origination and servicing guidelines and/or the loss of our seller/servicer license approval or approved issuer status with the Agencies could result in our failure to benefit from available monetary incentives and/or expose us to monetary penalties and curtailments, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our inability to meet certain net worth and liquidity requirements imposed by the Agencies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operation.
We are subject to minimum financial eligibility requirements established by the Agencies. These minimum financial requirements, which are described in the section entitled Liquidity and Capital Resources contained elsewhere in this Report, include net worth, capital ratio and/or liquidity criteria in order to set a minimum level of capital needed to adequately absorb potential losses and a minimum amount of liquidity needed to service Agency mortgage loans and MBS and cover the associated financial obligations and risks.
In order to meet these minimum financial requirements, we are required to maintain cash and cash equivalents in amounts that may impede us from growing our business and place us at a competitive disadvantage in relation to federally chartered banks and certain other financial institutions. To the extent that such minimum financial requirements are not met, the Agencies may suspend or terminate our Agency approvals or agreements, which could cause us to cross default under financing arrangements and/or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition liquidity and results of operations.
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The failure of PennyMac Loan Services, LLC to avail itself of an appropriate exemption from registration as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 could have a material and adverse effect on our business.
We intend to operate so that we, and each of our subsidiaries, are not required to register as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (“Investment Company Act”). We believe that our subsidiary, PLS, qualifies for one or more exemptions provided in the Investment Company Act because of the historical and current composition of its assets and income; however, there can be no assurances that the composition of PLS’ assets and income will remain the same over time such that one or more exemptions will continue to be applicable.
If PLS is required to register as an investment company, we would be required to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act that impose, among other things: limitations on capital structure; restrictions on specified investments; prohibitions on transactions with affiliates; compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting and proxy disclosure; and, other rules and regulations that would significantly increase our operating expenses. Further, if PLS was or is required to register as an investment company, PLS would be in breach of various representations and warranties contained in its credit and other agreements resulting in a default as to certain of our contracts and obligations. This could also subject us to civil or criminal actions or regulatory proceedings, or result in a court appointed receiver to take control of us and liquidate our business, any or all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Market and Financial Risks
Our mortgage banking revenues are highly dependent on macroeconomic factors and real estate market, mortgage market and financial market conditions.
The success of our business strategies and our results of operations are materially affected by current or future conditions in the real estate market, mortgage markets, financial markets and the economy generally. Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, deflation, unemployment, personal and business income taxes, healthcare, energy costs, domestic political issues, government shutdowns, climate change and the availability and cost of credit may contribute to increased volatility and unclear expectations for the economy in general and the real estate, mortgage market and financial markets in particular going forward. A destabilization of the real estate market, mortgage market and financial markets or deterioration in these markets also could reduce our loan production volume, reduce the profitability of servicing mortgages or adversely affect our ability to sell mortgage loans that we originate or acquire, either at a profit or at all. In addition, inflation and future expectations of inflation could increase our operating expenses and may affect our profitability if the additional operating costs are not recoverable through increased revenues or profit margins. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We may not be able to effectively manage significant increases or decreases in our loan production volume, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We may experience significant growth in our loan production volumes. If we do not effectively manage our growth and are unable to consistently maintain quality of execution, our reputation and existing relationships with mortgage lenders and brokers could be damaged, we may not be able to maintain PMT’s existing relationships or develop new relationships with mortgage lenders and brokers, our new mortgage products may not gain widespread acceptance and the quality of our correspondent production, consumer direct lending and broker direct lending operations could suffer, all of which could negatively affect our brand and operating results.
Our loan production segment is also subject to overall market factors that could adversely impact our ability to grow our loan production volume. For example, increased competition from new and existing market participants, reductions in the overall level of refinancing activity or slow growth in the level of new home purchase activity can impact our ability to continue to grow our loan production volumes, and we may be forced to accept lower margins in our respective businesses in order to continue to compete and keep our volume of activity consistent with past or projected levels or be forced to reduce our levels of production activity.
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We have a substantial amount of indebtedness, which may limit our financial and operating activities, expose us to substantial increases in costs due to interest rate fluctuations, expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations and may adversely affect our ability to incur additional debt to fund future needs.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $10.9 billion of total indebtedness outstanding (approximately $9.1billion of which was secured) and up to $8.7 billion of additional capacity under our secured borrowings and other secured debt financing arrangements. This substantial indebtedness and any future indebtedness we incur could have adverse consequences and, for example, could:
● subject us to increased sensitivity to interest rate increases;
In addition, our substantial level of indebtedness could limit our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, or at all, for working capital and general corporate purposes. Our liquidity needs vary significantly from time to time and may be affected by general economic conditions, industry trends, performance and many other factors outside our control.
We rely on external financial arrangements to fund mortgage loans and operate our business and our inability to refinance or enter new financial arrangements could be detrimental to our business.
Our ability to finance our business operations and repay maturing obligations rests in large part on our ability to borrow money. Unlike some of our competitors who fund mortgage loans through bank deposits, we generally fund our mortgage loans through borrowings under warehouse facilities and other financial arrangements as well as funds from our operations. Our borrowings are generally repaid with the proceeds we receive from mortgage loan sales. We require new and continued financing to facilitate our anticipated growth. We are generally required to renew many of our financing arrangements on a regular basis, which exposes us to refinancing and interest rate risks. Our ability to refinance our existing financial obligations and borrow additional funds is affected by a variety of factors beyond our control including:
● liquidity in the credit markets;
● prevailing interest rates;
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We are also dependent on a limited number of banking institutions that extend us credit on terms that we have determined to be commercially reasonable. These banking institutions are subject to their own regulatory supervision, liquidity and capital requirements, risk management frameworks, profitability and risk thresholds and tolerances, any of which may change materially and negatively impact their business strategies, including their extension of credit to us specifically or mortgage lenders and servicers generally. Certain banking institutions have already exited, and others may in the future decide to exit, the mortgage business. Such actions may increase our cost of capital and limit or otherwise eliminate our access to capital, in which case our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.
In the event that any of our financial arrangements is terminated or is not renewed, or if the principal amount that may be drawn under our funding agreements that provide for immediate funding at closing were to significantly decrease, we may be unable to find replacement financing on commercially favorable terms, or at all, which could be detrimental to our business.
We leverage our assets under credit and other financing agreements and utilize various other sources of borrowings, which exposes us to significant risk and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We currently leverage and, to the extent available, we intend to continue to leverage the mortgage loans produced through our consumer and broker direct lending business and the government-insured loans acquired through our correspondent production activities from PMT with borrowings under repurchase agreements. When we enter into repurchase agreements, we sell mortgage loans to lenders, which are the repurchase agreement counterparties, and receive cash from the lenders. The lenders are obligated to resell the same assets back to us at the end of the term of the transaction. Because the cash that we receive from a lender when we initially sell the assets to that lender is less than the fair value of those assets (this difference is referred to as the haircut), if the lender defaults on its obligation to resell the same assets back to us we could incur a loss on the transaction equal to the amount of the haircut (assuming that there was no change in the fair value of the assets). In addition, repurchase agreements generally allow the counterparties, to varying degrees, to determine a new fair value of the collateral to reflect current market conditions. If a counterparty lender determines that the fair value of the collateral has decreased, it may initiate a margin call and require us to either post additional collateral to cover such decrease or repay a portion of the outstanding borrowing. Should this occur, in order to obtain cash to satisfy a margin call, we may be required to liquidate assets at a disadvantageous time, which could cause us to incur further losses. If we are unable to satisfy a margin call, our counterparty may sell the collateral, which may result in significant losses to us.
In addition, we invest in certain assets, including MSRs and EBOs, for which financing has historically been difficult to obtain. We currently leverage certain of our MSRs and EBOs under secured financing arrangements. Freddie Mae MSRs are pledged through a special purpose entity to secure borrowings under a master repurchase agreement. Fannie Mac and Ginnie Mae MSRs are pledged to special purpose entities, each of which issues variable funding notes and term notes that are secured by such Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae assets, as applicable, and repaid through the cash flows received by the special purpose entity as the lender under a repurchase agreement with PLS. Some of our EBOs are contributed to a special purpose entity, which issues participation certificates pledged to secure borrowings under a master repurchase agreement. In each case, similar to our repurchase agreements, the cash that we receive under these secured financing arrangements is less than the fair value of the assets and a decrease in the fair value of the pledged collateral can result in a margin call. Should a margin call occur, we may be required to liquidate assets at a disadvantageous time, which could cause us to incur further losses. If we are unable to satisfy a margin call, the secured parties may sell the collateral, which may result in significant losses to us.
Each of the secured financing arrangements pursuant to which we finance MSRs is further subject to the terms of an acknowledgement agreement with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae, as applicable, pursuant to which our and the secured parties’ rights are subordinate in all respects to the rights of the applicable Agency. Accordingly, the exercise by any of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae of its rights under the applicable acknowledgment agreement could result in the extinguishment of our and the secured parties’ rights in the related collateral and result in significant losses to us.
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We may in the future utilize other sources of borrowings, including term loans, bank credit facilities and structured financing arrangements, among others. The amount of leverage we employ varies depending on the asset class being financed, our available capital, our ability to obtain and access financing arrangements with lenders and the lenders’ and rating agencies’ estimate of, among other things, the stability of our cash flows. We can provide no assurance that we will have access to any debt or equity capital on favorable terms or at the desired times, or at all. Our inability to raise such capital or obtain financing on favorable terms could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our financing agreements contain financial and restrictive covenants that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our various financing agreements require us and/or our subsidiaries to comply with various restrictive covenants, including those relating to tangible net worth, profitability and our ratio of total liabilities to tangible net worth. Incurring substantial debt subjects us to the risk that our cash flows from operations may be insufficient to repurchase the assets that we have sold under our repurchase agreements or otherwise service the debt incurred under our other financing agreements. Our lenders also require us to maintain minimum amounts of cash or cash equivalents sufficient to maintain a specified liquidity position. In addition, the repayment of the unsecured senior notes will depend in part on our restricted subsidiaries’ generation of cash flow and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or other means. The unsecured senior note indentures contain additional restrictive covenants that limit our and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to engage in specified types of transactions, including our ability and/or the ability of our restricted subsidiaries to:
● enter into transactions with affiliates; and
If we fail to comply with the restrictive covenants and are unable to obtain a waiver or amendment, an event of default would result under the terms of our financing arrangement or could limit our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, or at all, for working capital and general corporate purposes. If an event of default occurs, our financing arrangements could be immediately due and payable, requiring us to apply all available cash to repay our financing arrangements, and if we were unable to repay or refinance our financial arrangements then any collateral securing the financial arrangements may be sold by our lenders.
Our earnings may decrease because of changes in prevailing interest rates.
Our profitability is directly affected by changes in prevailing interest rates. An increase in prevailing interest rates could:
A decrease in prevailing interest rates could:
● reduce our earnings from our custodial deposit accounts.
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An event of default, a negative ratings agency action, the perception of financial weakness, an adverse action by a regulatory authority, a lengthening of foreclosure timelines or a general deterioration in the economy that constricts the availability of credit may increase our cost of funds and make it difficult for us to refinance existing debt and borrow additional funds. In addition, we may not be able to adjust our operational capacity in a timely manner, or at all, in response to increases or decreases in mortgage production volume resulting from changes in prevailing interest rates. In addition, while the Federal Reserve loosened monetary policies due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by purchasing securities and MBS on the open market, future interest rates and the liquidity of the MBS market could be impacted as the Federal Reserve increases the federal funds rate and tapers future MBS purchases. Any of the increases or decreases discussed above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We are subject to risks associated with the discontinuation of LIBOR.
As of December 31, 2021, one-week and two-month United States Dollar LIBOR (and certain non-U.S. dollar LIBOR settings) were discontinued, while the remaining non-U.S. dollar LIBOR settings ceased to be representative and thereafter began to be published only on a “synthetic basis”. In addition, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), which is the regulator of the LIBOR administrator, has announced that the principal United States Dollar LIBOR tenors (overnight and one, three, six and 12 months) will cease to be published by any administrator or will no longer be representative as of June 30, 2023. In addition, despite the expected publication of the principal United States Dollar LIBOR settings through June 30, 2023, the FCA has prohibited the firms it regulates from using such settings in new contracts after December 31, 2021 (subject to limited exceptions), and certain United States (and other) regulators have stated that no new contracts using United States Dollar LIBOR should be entered into after that date.
Accordingly, many LIBOR obligations have transitioned to another benchmark or will soon do so. Different types of financial products have transitioned, or are expected to transition, to different alternative benchmarks; and there is no assurance that any alternative benchmark will be the economic equivalent of any LIBOR setting. For some existing LIBOR-based obligations, the contractual consequences of the discontinuation of LIBOR may not be clear. Although the foregoing reflects the timing (or expected timing) of LIBOR discontinuation and certain consequences, there is no assurance that LIBOR, of any particular currency or tenor, will continue to be published until any particular date or in any particular form, and there is no assurance regarding the consequences of LIBOR discontinuation. Uncertainty as to the foregoing and the nature of alternative reference rates may adversely impact the availability and costs of borrowings.
The discontinuation of LIBOR could have a significant impact on the financial markets and our business activities. We rely on financing arrangements and liabilities under which our cost of borrowing is based on LIBOR. We also hold assets and instruments used to hedge the value of certain assets that is measured by reference to LIBOR. We anticipate significant challenges as it relates to the transition away from LIBOR for all of our LIBOR based assets, financing arrangements, securities and liabilities, regardless of whether their maturity dates (as applicable) fall before or after the discontinuation date after June 30, 2023. These challenges include, but are not limited to, amending agreements or instruments underlying our existing and/or new LIBOR-based assets, financing arrangements, securities and liabilities with appropriate fallback language in such a way as to ensure economic equivalence with our LIBOR-based assets, financing arrangements and securities prior to the discontinuation of LIBOR, and the possibility that LIBOR may deteriorate as a viable benchmark to ensure a fair cost of funds for our LIBOR-linked liabilities, interest income for our LIBOR-linked assets, and/or the determination of fair value for certain of our assets and hedges using LIBOR as a benchmark rate or used to develop a market discount rate. In addition, the transition to using any new benchmark rate or other financial metric may require changes to existing transaction data, products, systems, models, operations and pricing processes.
We also anticipate additional risks to our current business activities as they relate to the discontinuation of LIBOR. We service LIBOR-based adjustable rate mortgages (“ARMs”) for which the underlying mortgage notes incorporate fallback provisions, but we cannot anticipate the response of our borrowers or note holders to such risks. We may also incorporate LIBOR methodologies for financial planning and reporting in our financial models.
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In the United States, there have been efforts to identify alternative reference interest rates to replace United States Dollar LIBOR. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee has recommended that U.S. dollar LIBOR be replaced by rates based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus, in the case of existing LIBOR contracts and obligations, a spread adjustment. The derivatives markets are also expected to use SOFR-based rates to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR. SOFR-based rates differ from LIBOR, and the differences may be material. SOFR is intended to be a broad measure of the cost of borrowing funds overnight in transactions that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities. LIBOR is intended to be an unsecured rate that represents interbank funding costs for different short-term tenors and, other than its overnight setting, reflects expectations regarding future interest rates. Thus, LIBOR is generally intended to be sensitive to bank credit risk and to short-term interest rate expectations and SOFR is intended to be insensitive to credit risk and to risks related to interest rates other than overnight rates. SOFR has also been more volatile than such benchmark rates as three-month LIBOR from time to time. These fundamental differences between LIBOR and SOFR mean we are unable to clearly assess the risk of transitioning from LIBOR to SOFR for any of our LIBOR-based liabilities or assets.
Due to these risks, we expect both the impending and actual discontinuation of LIBOR could materially affect our interest expense and earnings, our cost of capital, and the fair value of certain of our assets and the instruments we use to hedge their value. For the same reason, we also can provide no assurance that changes in the value of our hedge instruments will effectively offset changes in the value of the assets they are expected to hedge. Furthermore, the transition away from widely used benchmark rates like LIBOR could result in customers or other market participants challenging the determination of their interest or dividend payments, disputing the interpretations or implementation of contract or instrument “fallback” provisions and other transition related changes. Our inability to manage these risks effectively may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Hedging against interest rate exposure may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.
We pursue hedging strategies primarily in an effort to mitigate the effect of changes in interest rates on the fair value of our assets. To manage this price risk, we use derivative financial instruments acquired with the intention of moderating the risk that changes in market interest rates will result in unfavorable changes in the fair value of our assets, primarily prepayment exposure on our MSR investments as well as interest rate lock commitments (“IRLCs”) and our inventory of loans held for sale. For example, with respect to our IRLCs and inventory of loans held for sale, we may use MBS forward sale contracts to lock in the price at which we will sell the mortgage loans or resulting MBS, and MBS put options to mitigate the risk of our IRLCs not closing at the rate we expect. In addition, with respect to our MSRs, we may use MBS forward purchase and sale contracts to address exposures to smaller interest rate shifts with Treasury and interest rate swap futures, and use options and swaptions to achieve target coverage levels for larger interest rate shocks.
Our hedging activity will vary in scope based on the risks being mitigated, the level of interest rates, the type of investments held, and other changing market conditions such as those resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hedging instruments involve risk because they often are not traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearing house, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities, and our interest rate hedging may fail to protect or could adversely affect us because, among other things:
In addition, we may fail to recalculate, re-adjust and execute hedges in an efficient manner. Any hedging activity, which is intended to limit losses, may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. Therefore, while we may enter into such transactions seeking to reduce interest rate risk, unanticipated changes in interest rates may result in worse overall investment performance than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transactions. A liquid secondary market may not exist for a hedging instrument purchased or sold, and we may be
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required to maintain a position until exercise or expiration, which could result in significant losses. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in hedging strategies and price movements in the portfolio positions or liabilities being hedged may vary materially. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not establish an effective correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio positions or liabilities being hedged. Any such ineffective correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss. Numerous regulations currently apply to hedging and any new regulations or changes in existing regulations may significantly increase our administrative or compliance costs. Our derivative agreements generally provide for the daily mark to market of our hedge exposures. If a hedge counterparty determines that its exposure to us exceeds its exposure threshold, it may initiate a margin call and require us to post collateral. If we are unable to satisfy a margin call, we would be in default of our agreement, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We utilize derivative financial instruments, which could subject us to risk of loss.
We utilize derivative financial instruments for hedging purposes, which may include swaps, options and futures. However, the prices of derivative financial instruments, including futures and options, are highly volatile, as are payments made pursuant to swap agreements. As a result, the cost of utilizing derivatives may reduce our income that would otherwise be available for distribution to stockholders or for other purposes, and the derivative instruments that we utilize may fail to effectively hedge our positions. We are also subject to credit risk with regard to the counterparties involved in the derivative transactions.
We are exposed to a number of risks relating to holding derivative instruments. A liquid secondary market may not exist for a hedging instrument purchased or sold, and we may be required to maintain a position until exercise or expiration, which could result in significant losses. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in hedging strategies and price movements in the portfolio positions or liabilities being hedged may vary materially. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not establish an effective correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio positions or liabilities being hedged. Any such ineffective correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss. Numerous regulations currently apply to hedging and any new regulations or changes in existing regulations may significantly increase our administrative or compliance costs. Our derivative agreements generally provide for the daily mark to market of our hedge exposures. If a hedge counterparty determines that its exposure to us exceeds its exposure threshold, it may initiate a margin call and require us to post collateral. If we are unable to satisfy a margin call, we would be in default of our agreement, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
The use of derivative instruments is also subject to an increasing number of laws and regulations, including the Dodd-Frank Act and other federal regulations. These laws and regulations are complex, compliance with them may be costly and time consuming, and our failure to comply with any of these laws and regulations could subject us to lawsuits or government actions and damage our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
We use estimates in determining the fair value of our MSRs, which are highly volatile assets with continually changing fair values. If our estimates of their value prove to be inaccurate, we may be required to write down the fair values of the MSRs which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our estimates of the fair value of our MSRs is based on the cash flows projected to result from the servicing of the related mortgage loans and continually fluctuates due to a number of factors. These factors include prepayment speeds, interest rate changes, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other market conditions, which affect the number of loans that are repaid or refinanced and thus no longer result in cash flows, and the number of loans that become delinquent.
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We use internal financial models that utilize our understanding of inputs and assumptions used by market participants to value our MSRs for purposes of financial reporting and for purposes of determining the price that we pay for portfolios of MSRs and to acquire loans for which we will retain MSRs. These models are complex and use asset-specific collateral data and market inputs for interest and discount rates. In addition, the modeling requirements of MSRs are complex because of the high number of variables that drive cash flows associated with MSRs. Even if the general accuracy of our valuation models is validated, valuations are highly dependent upon the reasonableness of our inputs and the results of the models.
If loan delinquencies or prepayment speeds are different than anticipated or other factors perform differently than modeled, the recorded value of certain of our MSRs may change. Significant differences in performance could increase the chance that we do not adequately estimate the impact of these factors on our valuations which could result in misstatements of our financial results, restatements of our financial statements, or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
The geographic concentration of our servicing portfolio may be affected by weaker economic conditions or adverse events specific to certain regions which could decrease the fair value of our MSRs and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
A decline in the economy, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or other difficulties in certain real estate markets may cause a decline in the value of residential and commercial properties. To the extent that certain states in which we have greater concentrations of business in the future experience weaker economic conditions or greater rates of decline in real estate values than the United States generally, such concentration may disproportionately decrease the fair value of our MSRs and adversely affect our loan production businesses. The impact of property value declines may increase in magnitude and it may continue for a long period of time. Additionally, if states in which we have greater concentrations of business were to change their licensing or other regulatory requirements to make our business cost-prohibitive, we may be required to stop doing business in those states or may be subject to a higher cost of doing business in those states, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Increases in delinquencies and defaults may adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Delinquencies can result from many factors including unemployment, weak economic conditions or real estate values, or catastrophic events such as man-made or natural disasters, pandemic, war or terrorist attacks. A decrease in home prices may result in higher loan-to-value ratios (“LTVs”), lower recoveries in foreclosure and an increase in loss severities above those that would have been realized had property values remained the same or continued to increase. Some borrowers do not have sufficient equity in their homes to permit them to refinance their existing loans, which may reduce the volume or growth of our loan production business. This may also provide borrowers with an incentive to default on their mortgage loans even if they have the ability to make principal and interest payments. Further, despite recent increases, interest rates have remained near historical lows for an extended period of time.
Increased mortgage delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures may result in lower revenue for loans that we service for the Agencies because we only collect servicing fees from the Agencies for performing loans, and our failure to service delinquent and defaulted loans in accordance with the applicable servicing guidelines could result in our failure to benefit from available monetary incentives and/or expose us to monetary penalties and curtailments. Additionally, while increased delinquencies generate higher ancillary fees, including late fees, these fees are not likely to be recoverable in the event that the related loan is liquidated or due to the CARES Act restrictions or other requirements as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, an increase in delinquencies lowers the interest income that we receive on cash held in collection and other accounts because there is less cash in those accounts. Also, increased mortgage defaults may ultimately reduce the number of mortgages that we service.
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Increased mortgage delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures will also result in a higher cost to service those loans due to the increased time and effort required to collect payments from delinquent borrowers and to acquire and liquidate the properties securing the loans or otherwise resolve loan defaults if payment collection is unsuccessful, and only a portion of these increased costs are recoverable under our servicing agreements. Increased mortgage delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures may also result in an increase in servicing advances we are obligated to make to fulfill our obligations to MBS holders and to protect our investors’ interests in the properties securing the delinquent mortgage loans. An increase in required advances also may cause an increase in our interest expense and affect our liquidity as a result of increased borrowings under our financing agreements to fund any such increase in the advances.
A disruption in the MBS market could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Most of the loans that we produce are pooled into MBS issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae. In addition, while the Federal Reserve loosened monetary policies due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by purchasing securities and MBS on the open market, future interest rates and the liquidity of the MBS market could be impacted as the Federal Reserve increases the federal funds rate and tapers future MBS purchases. Any significant disruption or period of illiquidity in the general MBS market would directly affect our own liquidity and the liquidity of PMT because no existing alternative secondary market would likely be willing and able to accommodate on a timely basis the volume of loans that we typically sell in any given period. Furthermore, we would remain contractually obligated to fund loans under our outstanding IRLCs without being able to sell our existing inventory of mortgage loans. Accordingly, if the MBS market experiences a period of illiquidity, we might be prevented from selling the loans that we produce into the secondary market in a timely manner or at favorable prices and we would be required to hold a larger inventory of loans than we have committed facilities to fund or we may be required to repay a portion of the debt secured by these assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We may be required to indemnify the purchasers of loans that we originate, acquire or assist in the fulfillment of, or repurchase those loans, if those loans fail to meet certain criteria or characteristics or under other circumstances.
Our contracts with purchasers of newly originated loans that we fund through our consumer direct lending business or acquire from PMT through our correspondent production activities contain provisions that require us to indemnify the purchaser of the related loans or repurchase such loans under certain circumstances. Our loan sale agreements with purchasers, including the Agencies, contain provisions that generally require us to indemnify or repurchase these loans if our representations and warranties concerning loan quality and loan characteristics are inaccurate; or the loans fail to comply with the respective Agency’s underwriting or regulatory requirements.
Repurchased loans typically can only be financed at a steep discount to their repurchase price, if at all. They are also typically valued and, therefore, can generally only be sold at a significant discount to the underlying UPBs. In certain cases involving mortgage lenders from whom loans were acquired through our correspondent production activities, we may have contractual rights to either recover some or all of our indemnification losses or otherwise demand repurchase of these loans. Depending on the volume of repurchase and indemnification requests, some of these mortgage lenders may not be able to financially fulfill their obligation to indemnify us or repurchase the affected loans. If a material amount of recovery cannot be obtained from these mortgage lenders, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
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Although our indemnification and repurchase exposure cannot be quantified with certainty, to recognize these potential indemnification and repurchase losses, we have recorded a liability of $43.5 million as of December 31, 2021. Because of the increase in our loan production over time, we expect that indemnification and repurchase requests are also likely to increase. Should home values decrease and negatively impact the related loan values, our realized loan losses from indemnifications and repurchases may increase as well. As such, our indemnification and repurchase costs may increase well beyond our current expectations. In addition, our mortgage banking services agreement with PMT requires us to indemnify it with respect to loans for which we provide fulfillment services in certain instances. If we are required to indemnify PMT or other purchasers against losses, or repurchase loans from PMT or other purchasers, that result in losses that exceed the recorded liability, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We depend on the accuracy and completeness of information about borrowers and counterparties and any misrepresented information could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
In deciding whether to approve loans or to enter into other transactions across our businesses with borrowers and counterparties, including brokers, correspondent lenders and non-delegated correspondent lenders, we may rely on information furnished to us by or on behalf of borrowers and such counterparties, including financial statements and other financial information. We also may rely on representations of borrowers and such counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information and, with respect to financial statements, on reports of independent auditors. If any of this information is intentionally or negligently misrepresented and such misrepresentation is not detected prior to loan funding, the fair value of the loan may be significantly lower than expected. Whether a misrepresentation is made by the loan applicant, another third party or one of our employees, we generally bear the risk of loss associated with the misrepresentation. Our controls and processes may not have detected or may not detect all misrepresented information in our loan originations or acquisitions. Any such misrepresented information could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our counterparties may terminate our MSRs, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
As is standard in the industry, under the terms of our master servicing agreements with the Agencies in respect of Agency MSRs that we retain in connection with our loan production, the Agencies have the right to terminate us as servicer of the loans we service on their behalf at any time (and, in certain instances, without the payment of any termination fee) and also have the right to cause us to sell the MSRs to a third party. In addition, our failure to comply with applicable servicing guidelines could result in our termination under such master servicing agreements by the Agencies with little or no notice and without any compensation. The owners of other non-Agency loans that we service may also terminate certain of our MSRs if we fail to comply with applicable servicing guidelines. If the MSRs are terminated on a material portion of our servicing portfolio, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We are required to make servicing advances that can be subject to delays in recovery or may not be recoverable in certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
During any period in which a borrower is not making payments, we are required under most of our servicing agreements in respect of our MSRs to advance our own funds to pay property taxes and insurance premiums, legal expenses and other protective advances. We also advance funds under these agreements to maintain, repair and market real estate properties on behalf of investors. As home values change, we may have to reconsider certain of the assumptions underlying our decisions to make advances and, in certain situations, our contractual obligations may require us to make advances for which we may not be reimbursed. In addition, if a mortgage loan serviced by us is in default or becomes delinquent, the repayment to us of the advance may be delayed until the mortgage loan is repaid or refinanced or a liquidation occurs. Federal, state or local regulatory actions may increase the amount of servicing advances that we are required to make, lengthen the time it takes for us to be reimbursed for such advances and increase the costs incurred while the loan is delinquent.
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