2014 Annual Report

Notes to the Financial Statements

FSLIC Resolution Fund

December 31, 2014 and 2013

1. OPERATIONS/DISSOLUTION OF THE FSLIC RESOLUTION FUND

OVERVIEW

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is the independent deposit insurance agency created by Congress in 1933 to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s banking system.  Provisions that govern the FDIC’s operations are generally found in the Federal Deposit Insurance (FDI) Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1811, et seq).  In accordance with the FDI Act, the FDIC, as administrator of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), insures the deposits of banks and savings associations (insured depository institutions).  In cooperation with other federal and state agencies, the FDIC promotes the safety and soundness of insured depository institutions (IDIs) by identifying, monitoring, and addressing risks to the DIF.

In addition to being the administrator of the DIF, the FDIC is the administrator of the FSLIC Resolution Fund (FRF).  As such, the FDIC is responsible for the sale of remaining assets and satisfaction of liabilities associated with the former Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and the former Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC).  The FDIC maintains the DIF and the FRF separately to support their respective functions.

The FSLIC was created through the enactment of the National Housing Act of 1934.  The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) abolished the insolvent FSLIC and created the FRF.  At that time, the assets and liabilities of the FSLIC were transferred to the FRF – except those assets and liabilities transferred to the newly created RTC – effective on August 9, 1989.  Further, the FIRREA established the Resolution Funding Corporation (REFCORP) to provide part of the initial funds used by the RTC for thrift resolutions.

The RTC Completion Act of 1993 terminated the RTC as of December 31, 1995.  All remaining assets and liabilities of the RTC were transferred to the FRF on January 1, 1996.  Today, the FRF consists of two distinct pools of assets and liabilities: one composed of the assets and liabilities of the FSLIC transferred to the FRF upon the dissolution of the FSLIC (FRF-FSLIC), and the other composed of the RTC assets and liabilities (FRF-RTC).  The assets of one pool are not available to satisfy obligations of the other.

OPERATIONS/DISSOLUTION OF THE FRF

The FRF will continue operations until all of its assets are sold or otherwise liquidated and all of its liabilities are satisfied.  Any funds remaining in the FRF-FSLIC will be paid to the U.S. Treasury.  Any remaining funds of the FRF-RTC will be distributed to the REFCORP to pay the interest on the REFCORP bonds.  In addition, the FRF-FSLIC has available until expended $602 million in appropriations to facilitate, if required, efforts to wind up the resolution activity of the FRF-FSLIC. 

The FDIC has extensively reviewed and cataloged the FRF’s remaining assets and liabilities.  Some of the issues and items that remain open in the FRF are (1) criminal restitution orders (generally have from 1 to 17 years remaining to enforce); (2) collections of settlements and judgments obtained against officers and directors and other professionals responsible for causing or contributing to thrift losses (generally have up to 7 years remaining to enforce, unless the judgments are renewed or are covered by the Federal Debt Collections Procedures Act, which will result in significantly longer periods for collection for some judgments); (3) liquidation/disposition of residual assets purchased by the FRF from terminated receiverships; (4) three remaining assistance agreements entered into by the former FSLIC (FRF could continue to receive or refund overpayments of tax benefits sharing in future years); (5) goodwill litigation (no final date for resolution has been established; see Note 3); and (6) affordable housing disposition program monitoring (last agreement expires no later than 2045; see Note 3).  The FRF could potentially realize recoveries from tax benefits sharing, criminal restitution orders, and professional liability claims; however, any associated recoveries are not reflected in the FRF’s financial statements, given the significant uncertainties surrounding the ultimate outcome.

On April 1, 2014, the FDIC concluded its role as receiver of FRF receiverships when the last active receivership was terminated.  In total, 850 receiverships were liquidated by the FRF and the RTC.  To facilitate receivership terminations, the FRF, in its corporate capacity, acquired any remaining receivership assets.  These assets are included in the “Other Assets, net” line item on the Balance Sheet.

During the years of receivership activity, the assets held by receivership entities, and the claims against them, were accounted for separately from the FRF’s assets and liabilities to ensure that receivership proceeds were distributed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.  Also, the income and expenses attributable to receiverships were accounted for as transactions of those receiverships.  The FDIC billed receiverships for services provided on their behalf.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

GENERAL

These financial statements include the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the FRF and are presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).  During the years of receivership activity, these statements did not include reporting for assets and liabilities of receivership entities because these entities were legally separate and distinct, and the FRF did not have any ownership or beneficial interest in them.

USE OF ESTIMATES

Management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes.  Actual results could differ from these estimates.  Where it is reasonably possible that changes in estimates will cause a material change in the financial statements in the near term, the nature and extent of such changes in estimates have been disclosed.  The more significant estimates include the valuation of other assets and the estimated losses for litigation.

CASH EQUIVALENTS

Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments consisting primarily of U.S. Treasury Overnight Certificates.

PROVISION FOR LOSSES

The provision for losses represents the change in the estimated losses related to other assets.

RELATED PARTIES

The nature of related parties and a description of related party transactions are discussed in Note 1 and disclosed throughout the financial statements and footnotes.

DISCLOSURE ABOUT RECENT RELEVANT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-07, Presentation of Financial Statements - Liquidation Basis of Accounting, modifies Accounting Standards Codification Topic 205, Presentation of Financial Statements, to require an entity to prepare its financial statements using the liquidation basis of accounting when liquidation is imminent.  The requirements became effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2013. 

The FDIC has determined that the FRF does not meet the requirements for presenting financial statements using the liquidation basis of accounting.  According to the standard, a limited-life entity should apply the liquidation basis of accounting only if a change in the entity’s governing plan has occurred since its inception.  By statute, the FRF is a limited-life entity whose dissolution will occur upon the satisfaction of all liabilities and the disposition of all assets.  No changes to this statutory plan have occurred since inception of the FRF.

Other recent accounting pronouncements have been deemed not applicable or material to the financial statements as presented.

3. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES FOR:

GOODWILL LITIGATION

In United States v. Winstar Corp., 518 U.S. 839 (1996), the Supreme Court held that when it became impossible following the enactment of FIRREA in 1989 for the federal government to perform certain agreements to count goodwill toward regulatory capital, the plaintiffs were entitled to recover damages from the United States.  The contingent liability associated with the nonperformance of these agreements was transferred to the FRF on August 9, 1989, upon the dissolution of the FSLIC.

The FRF can draw from an appropriation provided by Section 110 of the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106-113, Appendix A, Title I, 113 Stat. 1501A-3, 1501A-20) such sums as may be necessary for the payment of judgments and compromise settlements in the goodwill litigation.  This appropriation is to remain available until expended.  Because an appropriation is available to pay such judgments and settlements, any estimated liability for goodwill litigation should have a corresponding receivable from the U.S. Treasury and therefore have no net impact on the financial condition of the FRF. 

The FRF paid $500 thousand to the plaintiffs in one goodwill case in 2013, representing a reimbursement for a tax liability of the plaintiffs as a result of the settlement they received in 2012.  The FRF received appropriations from the U.S. Treasury to fund this payment.

As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, one case remains active and pending against the United States based on alleged breaches of the agreements stated above.  For this case, a contingent liability and an offsetting receivable of $356 million was recorded as of December 31, 2014 and 2013.  This case is currently before the lower court pending remand following appeal.  It is reasonably possible that for this case the FRF could incur additional estimated losses of $63 million, representing additional damages contended by the plaintiff.  Additionally, for a case that was fully adjudicated in 2012, an estimated loss of $8 million, which represents estimated tax liabilities, is also reasonably possible. 

In addition, the FRF-FSLIC pays the goodwill litigation expenses incurred by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the entity that defends these lawsuits against the United States, based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated October 2, 1998, between the FDIC and the DOJ.  FRF-FSLIC pays in advance the estimated goodwill litigation expenses.  Any unused funds are carried over and applied toward the next fiscal year (FY) charges.  In 2014, FRF-FSLIC did not provide any additional funding to the DOJ because the unused funds from prior fiscal years were sufficient to cover estimated FY 2015 expenses. 

OTHER CONTINGENCIES

Paralleling the goodwill cases were similar cases alleging that the government breached agreements regarding tax benefits associated with certain FSLIC-assisted acquisitions.  All eight of those cases have been settled.  However, a case settled in 2006 further obligates the FRF-FSLIC as a guarantor for all tax liabilities in the event the settlement amount is determined by tax authorities to be taxable.  The maximum potential exposure under this guarantee is approximately $81 million.  However, the FDIC believes that it is very unlikely the settlement will be subject to taxation.  The entity’s federal income tax return for the 2006 taxable year has been amended and remains subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  To date, there has been no assertion by the IRS of taxation for an issue covered by the guarantee.  As of December 31, 2014, no liability has been recorded, and the FRF does not expect to fund any payment under this guarantee.

FANNIE MAE GUARANTEE

On May 21, 2012, the FDIC, in its capacity as administrator of the FRF, entered into an agreement with Fannie Mae for the release of $13 million of credit enhancement reserves to the FRF in exchange for indemnifying Fannie Mae for all future losses incurred on 76 multi-family mortgage loans.  The former RTC supplied Fannie Mae with the credit enhancement reserves in the form of cash collateral to cover future losses on these mortgage loans through 2020.  Based on the most current data available, as of September 30, 2014, the maximum exposure on this indemnification is the current unpaid principal balance of the remaining 58 multi-family loans totaling $5.8 million.  Based on a contingent liability assessment of this portfolio as of September 30, 2014, the majority of the loans are at least 76 percent amortized, and all are scheduled to mature within one to six years.  Since all of the loans are performing and no losses have occurred since 2001, future payments on this indemnification are not expected.  As a result, no contingent liability for this indemnification has been recorded as of December 31, 2014.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING DISPOSITION PROGRAM

Required by FIRREA under section 501, the Affordable Housing Disposition Program (AHDP) was established in 1989 to ensure the preservation of affordable housing for low-income households.  The FDIC, in its capacity as administrator of the FRF-RTC, assumed responsibility for monitoring property owner compliance with land use restriction agreements (LURAs).  To enforce the property owners’ LURA obligation, the RTC, prior to its dissolution, entered into Memoranda of Understanding with 28 monitoring agencies to oversee these LURAs.  The FDIC, through the FRF, has agreed to indemnify the monitoring agencies for all losses related to LURA legal enforcement proceedings.  Since 2006, the FDIC has entered into two litigations against property owners and has paid $23 thousand in legal expenses, of which $13 thousand has been reimbursed due to successful litigation.  The maximum potential exposure to the FRF cannot be estimated as it is contingent upon future legal proceedings.  However, loss mitigation factors include: (1) the indemnification may become void if the FDIC is not immediately informed upon receiving notice of any legal proceedings and (2) the FDIC is entitled to reimbursement of any legal expenses incurred for successful litigation against a property owner.  AHDP guarantees will continue until the termination of the last of the LURAs, or 2045 (whichever occurs first).  As of December 31, 2014, no contingent liability for this indemnification has been recorded. 

4. RESOLUTION EQUITY

As stated in the Overview section of Note 1, the FRF is composed of two distinct pools: the FRF-FSLIC and the FRF-RTC.  The FRF-FSLIC consists of the assets and liabilities of the former FSLIC.  The FRF-RTC consists of the assets and liabilities of the former RTC.  Pursuant to legal restrictions, the two pools are maintained separately and the assets of one pool are not available to satisfy obligations of the other.

The following table shows the contributed capital, accumulated deficit, and resulting resolution equity for each pool.

RESOLUTION EQUITY AT DECEMBER 31, 2014
Dollars in Thousands

	FRF-FSLIC	FRF-RTC	FRF        Consolidated
Contributed capital - beginning	$43,707,819	$81,624,337	$125,332,156
Contributed capital - ending	$43,707,819	$81,624,337	$125,332,156
Accumulated deficit	(42,879,590)	(81,581,089)	(124,460,679)
Total	$828,229	$43,248	$871,477

 

RESOLUTION EQUITY AT DECEMBER 31, 2013
Dollars in Thousands

	FRF-FSLIC	FRF-RTC	FRF        Consolidated
Contributed capital - beginning	$46,307,319	$81,749,337	$128,056,656
Less: Payment to REFCORP	0	(125,000)	(125,000)
Less: Return of U.S. Treasury funds	(2,600,000)	0	(2,600,000)
Add: U.S. Treasury payment for goodwill litigation	500	0	500
Contributed capital - ending	43,707,819	81,624,337	125,332,156
Accumulated deficit	(42,879,951)	(81,580,200)	(124,460,151)
Total	$827,868	$44,137	$872,005

CONTRIBUTED CAPITAL

The FRF-FSLIC and the former RTC received $43.5 billion and $60.1 billion from the U.S. Treasury, respectively, to fund losses from thrift resolutions prior to July 1, 1995.  Additionally, the FRF-FSLIC issued $670 million in capital certificates to the Financing Corporation (a mixed-ownership government corporation established to function solely as a financing vehicle for the FSLIC) and the RTC issued $31.3 billion of these instruments to the REFCORP.  FIRREA prohibited the payment of dividends on any of these capital certificates.

FRF-FSLIC received $500 thousand in U.S. Treasury payments for goodwill litigation in 2013.  In addition, $356 million was accrued for as receivables as of December 31, 2014 and 2013.  Through December 31, 2014, the FRF has received or established a receivable for a total of $2.2 billion of goodwill appropriations, the effect of which increases contributed capital.

Through December 31, 2014, the FRF-RTC had returned $4.6 billion to the U.S. Treasury and made payments of $5.1 billion to the REFCORP.  The most recent payment to the REFCORP was in July of 2013 for $125 million.  In addition, the FDIC returned $2.6 billion to the U.S. Treasury on behalf of the FRF-FSLIC in 2013.  These actions serve to reduce contributed capital.

ACCUMULATED DEFICIT

The accumulated deficit represents the cumulative excess of expenses and losses over revenue for activity related to the FRF-FSLIC and the FRF-RTC.  Approximately $29.8 billion and $87.9 billion were brought forward from the former FSLIC and the former RTC on August 9, 1989, and January 1, 1996, respectively.  The FRF-FSLIC accumulated deficit has increased by $13.1 billion, whereas the FRF-RTC accumulated deficit has decreased by $6.3 billion, since their dissolution dates.

5. DISCLOSURES ABOUT THE FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

At December 31, 2014 and 2013, the FRF’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis are cash equivalents of $827 million and $826 million, respectively.  Cash equivalents are Special U.S. Treasury Certificates with overnight maturities valued at prevailing interest rates established by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.  The valuation is considered a Level 1 measurement in the fair value hierarchy, representing quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

Some of the FRF’s financial assets and liabilities are not recognized at fair value but are recorded at amounts that approximate fair value due to their short maturities and/or comparability with current interest rates.  Such items include receivables from U.S. Treasury for goodwill litigation and accounts payable and other liabilities.

Assets purchased by the FRF from terminated receiverships (see Note 1) and included in the “Other Assets, net” line item on the Balance Sheet are primarily valued using projected cash flow analyses; however, these valuations do not represent an estimate of fair value.  These assets (ranging in age up to 25 years), could not be liquidated during the life of the receiverships due to restrictive clauses and other impediments.  Because these impediments remain, there is no market for these assets.  Consequently, it is not practicable to provide an estimate of fair value.

6. INFORMATION RELATING TO THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

RECONCILIATION OF NET LOSS TO NET CASH FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31
Dollars in Thousands

	2014	2013
Operating Activities
Net Loss:	$(528)	$(516)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided (used) by operating activities:
Provision for insurance losses	(792)	(1,255)
Change in Assets and Liabilities:
Decrease in other assets	1,071	5,528
(Decrease) in accounts payable and other liabilities	(420)	(1,652)
Net Cash (Used) Provided by Operating Activities	$(669)	$2,105

7. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Subsequent events have been evaluated through February 5, 2015, the date the financial statements are available to be issued, and management determined that there are no items to disclose.