UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

Form 10‑K

 

Commission file number: 001‑38727

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.

(formerly known as New 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:

 

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 if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S‑K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10‑K or any amendment to this Form 10‑K. ☒

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.

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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐  No ☒

As of June 30, 2018 the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Common Stock, $0.0001 par value (“common stock”), held by non‑affiliates was $412,801,482 based on the closing price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.

As of February 28, 2019, the number of outstanding shares of common stock of the registrant was 77,534,715.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

 

 

 

 

PENNYMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.

FORM 10‑K

December 31, 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD‑LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This Annual Report on Form 10‑K (“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:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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. (formerly known as New PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.)(“PFSI”).

 

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 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 (“PennyMac”). PennyMac was founded in 2008 by members of our executive leadership team and two strategic partners, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures, LLC (“BlackRock” or “BlackRock, Inc.”) and HC Partners, LLC, formerly known as Highfields Capital Investments, LLC, together with its affiliates (“Highfields”).

 

We were formed as a Delaware corporation on July 2, 2018. We became the top-level parent holding company for the consolidated PennyMac business pursuant to a corporate reorganization (the “Reorganization”) that was consummated on November 1, 2018. Before the Reorganization, PNMAC Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.) (“PNMAC Holdings”) was our top-level parent holding company and our public company registrant. One result of the consummation of the Reorganization was that our equity structure was changed to create a single class of publicly-held common stock as opposed to the two classes that were in place before the Reorganization. The Reorganization is to be treated as an integrated transaction that qualifies as a reorganization with the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and/or a transfer described in Section 351(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. PNMAC Holdings’ financial statements remain our historical financial statements.

 

Our principal mortgage banking subsidiary, PennyMac Loan Services, LLC (“PLS”), is a non-bank producer and servicer of mortgage loans in the United States. PLS is a seller/servicer for the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), each of which is a government‑sponsored entity (“GSE”). PLS is also an approved issuer of securities guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), a lender of the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), and a lender/servicer of the Veterans Administration (“VA”) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”). We refer to each of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, FHA, VA and USDA as an “Agency” and collectively as the “Agencies.” PLS is able to service loans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and originate loans in 49 states and the District of Columbia, either because PLS is properly licensed in a particular jurisdiction or exempt or otherwise not required to be licensed in that jurisdiction.

 

Our investment management subsidiary is PNMAC Capital Management, LLC (“PCM”), a Delaware limited liability company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”), as amended. PCM manages PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (“PMT”), a mortgage real estate investment trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PMT. PCM previously managed PNMAC Mortgage Opportunity Fund, LLC, PNMAC Mortgage Opportunity Fund, LP, an affiliate of these funds and PNMAC Mortgage Opportunity Fund Investors, LLC. We refer to these funds collectively

as our “Investment Funds” and, together with PMT, as our “Advised Entities.” During 2018, the Investment Funds were dissolved.

 

We conduct our business in three segments: production, servicing (together, production and servicing comprise our mortgage banking activities) and investment management.

Following is a summary of our segment’s results for the years presented:

 

 

Mortgage Banking

 

Loan Production

 

In our loan production activities, we earn interest income, gains or losses during the holding period and upon the sale of these loans, and retain the associated MSRs. 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 and broker direct lending.

 

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. For conventional mortgage loans, we perform fulfillment activities for PMT and earn a fulfillment fee for each mortgage loan purchased by PMT. In the case of government insured mortgage loans, we fulfill them for our own account and purchase them from PMT at PMT’s cost plus a sourcing fee.

 

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, and we do not have a “brick and mortar” branch network.

 

In broker direct lending, we obtain loan application packages from third-party mortgage loan brokers for mortgage loans, underwrite and fund mortgage loans for sale to PMT or investors.

 

We conduct our own fulfillment for mortgage loans originated through the consumer direct and broker direct lending channels. Our loan production activity is summarized below:

 

 

Loan Servicing

 

Our loan servicing segment performs loan administration, collection, and default management activities, including the collection and remittance of loan payments; response to customer inquiries; accounting for principal and interest; holding custodial (impounded) funds for the payment of property taxes and insurance premiums; counseling delinquent mortgagors; and supervising foreclosures and property dispositions. We service mortgage loans both as the owner of MSRs and on behalf of other MSR or mortgage owners. We provide servicing for conventional and government-insured or guaranteed loans (“prime servicing”), as well as servicing for distressed mortgage loans that have been acquired as investments by PMT (“special servicing”).

 

The UPB of our mortgage loan servicing portfolio is summarized below:

 

 

Investment Management

 

We are an investment manager through our subsidiary, PCM. PCM currently manages PMT. For these activities, we earn management fees as a percentage of net assets and may earn incentive compensation based on investment performance. During 2018, we completed the liquidation of the Investment Funds.

 

The net assets of the Advised Entities are summarized below:

 

 

U.S. Mortgage Market

 

The U.S. residential mortgage market is one of the largest financial markets in the world, with approximately $10.8 trillion of outstanding debt as of September 30, 2018. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, first lien mortgage loan origination volume was approximately $1.6 trillion in 2018. 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 and the industry remains in a period of significant transformation, 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 Growth Strategies

 

Our growth strategies include:

 

Growing our Mortgage Loan Servicing Portfolio

 

We expect to focus the growth of our servicing portfolio on loan production activities, as our correspondent government‑insured production and consumer and broker direct lending add new prime servicing for owned MSRs, and correspondent conventional production adds new subservicing. In 2018, our correspondent, consumer direct and broker direct loan production totaled $67.6 billion in UPB. We plan to supplement our organic growth with MSR acquisitions, some of which may be concentrated in delinquent or defaulted loans for which we have expertise in servicing. We have acquired MSRs from large mortgage servicers, which are selling MSRs due to continuing operational and regulatory pressures, higher regulatory capital requirements for banks, and a re-focus on core customers and business, and from independent mortgage banks, which are selling MSRs due to reduced origination volumes, operational losses, and a need for capital. In 2018, we purchased approximately $18.8 billion in UPB of MSRs.

 

Growing Correspondent Production through Expanding Seller Relationships and Adding Products and Services

 

We expect to grow our correspondent production business by expanding the number and types of sellers from which we purchase loans and increasing the volume of loans that we purchase from our sellers as we continue to add to the loan products and services we offer. Over the past several years, a number of large banks have exited or reduced the size of their correspondent production businesses, creating an opportunity for non‑bank entities to gain market share. We believe that we are well positioned to continue to 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. In 2016, we launched a non-delegated correspondent service to complement our delegated correspondent channel. The non-delegated correspondent lending service involves the purchase of loans for which PLS has provided underwriting eligibility services to the originating correspondent seller. Entry into this market leverages our existing loan fulfillment infrastructure, gives our existing sellers an additional method through which they can deliver loans to us and provides us with access to new sellers that were not previously served.

 

Growing Consumer Direct Lending through Portfolio Recapture and Non‑Portfolio Originations

 

We expect to grow our consumer direct lending business by leveraging our growing servicing portfolio through 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, 2018, we serviced 1.5 million loans for existing customers. 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.

 

Growing Broker Direct Lending

 

During 2018, we introduced our broker direct lending channel.The broker lending channel involves the underwriting and funding of mortgage loans sourced by mortgage loan brokers and other financial intermediaries. We estimate that the broker lending channel represents approximately 10% of U.S. residential mortgage originations and we have recently entered that market. Through this mortgage loan origination channel, third-party mortgage loan brokers submit loan application packages to us and we underwrite and fund the mortgage loans. In 2018, we funded $378.5 million of mortgage loans 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.

 

Expansion into New Markets and Products

 

We regularly evaluate opportunities to grow our business, including expansion into new markets, such as the broker lending channel and non-delegated correspondent lending services. 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. For example, the Company recently launched a home equity line of credit (“HELOC”) product through its consumer direct lending channel that allows customers to use their home equity for home improvements, debt consolidation or other expenses while maintaining their existing first mortgage. The HELOC product leverages the Company’s partnership with PMT through its ability to securitize and invest in HELOC assets.

 

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 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 PennyMac 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 U.S. 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.

 

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.

 

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 hold various registered trademarks, including trademarks with respect to the name PennyMac®, the swirl design and rooftop design appearing in certain PennyMac drawings and logos 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. We do not otherwise rely on any copyright, patent or other form of registration to protect our rights in our intellectual property. Our other intellectual property includes proprietary know‑how and technological innovations, such as our proprietary loan‑level analytics systems and models for distressed loan management, 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 mortgage banking segments, we compete with large financial institutions and with other independent residential mortgage loan producers and servicers, such as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Quicken Loans and Mr. Cooper. In our loan production segment, we compete on the basis of product offerings, technical knowledge, manufacturing quality, speed of execution, rate and fees. In our servicing segment, we compete on the basis of experience in the residential loan servicing business, quality and efficiency of execution and servicing performance, especially in the servicing of delinquent and defaulted loans.

 

In our investment management segment, we compete for capital with both traditional and alternative investment managers. We compete 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.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2018, we, through a subsidiary, had 3,460 employees.

 

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, 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.

 

 

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

 

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the following factors, which could materially 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

 

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 loan production and servicing businesses. These regulations directly impact our business and require constant compliance, monitoring and internal and external audits and examinations by federal and state regulators. This can result in increases in our administrative costs, and we or PLS may be required to pay substantial penalties imposed by these regulators due to compliance errors, or PLS may lose its

licenses. Negative publicity or fines and penalties incurred in one jurisdiction may cause investigations or other actions by regulators in other jurisdictions. 

 

Federal, state and local governments have proposed or enacted numerous laws, regulations and rules related to mortgage loans. Laws, regulations, rules and judicial and administrative decisions relating to mortgage loans include those pertaining to real estate settlement procedures, equal credit opportunity, fair lending, fair credit reporting, truth in lending, fair debt collection practices, service members protections, compliance with net worth and financial statement delivery requirements, compliance with federal and state disclosure and licensing requirements, the establishment of maximum interest rates, finance charges and other charges, qualified mortgages, licensing of loan officers and other personnel, loan officer compensation, secured transactions, property valuations, servicing transfers, payment processing, escrow, communications with consumers, loss mitigation, collection, foreclosure, bankruptcy, repossession and claims‑handling procedures, and other trade practices and privacy regulations providing for the use and safeguarding of non‑public personal financial information of borrowers. Service providers we use must also comply with some of these legal requirements, including outside counsel retained to process foreclosures and bankruptcies.

 

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.

 

Our service providers and vendors are also required to operate in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and rules. Our failure to adequately manage service providers and vendors in order to mitigate risks of noncompliance with applicable laws may also have these negative results.

 

The failure of the mortgage lenders from whom loans were acquired through our correspondent production activities 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 these acquired loans, including, without limitation, compliance with underwriting guidelines and applicable laws or regulations. However, we may not detect every violation of law by these mortgage lenders. Further, to the extent any other third party originators or servicers with whom 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. In general, if any of our loans are found to have been originated, serviced or owned by us or a third party in violation of applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to lawsuits or governmental actions, or we could be fined or incur losses. While we may have contractual rights to seek indemnity or repurchase from certain of these lenders and third party originators and servicers, 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.

 

The CFPB is active in its monitoring of the residential mortgage origination and servicing sectors. New rules and regulations and more stringent enforcement of existing rules and regulations by the CFPB could result in enforcement actions, fines, penalties and the inherent reputational risk that results from such actions. 

 

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB is empowered with broad supervision, rulemaking and examination authority to enforce laws involving consumer financial products and services and to ensure, among other things, that consumers receive clear and accurate disclosures regarding financial products and are protected from hidden fees and unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices. The CFPB has adopted a number of final regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act regarding truth in lending, “ability to repay,” home mortgage loan disclosure, home loan origination, fair credit reporting, fair debt collection practices, foreclosure protections, and mortgage servicing rules, including provisions regarding loss mitigation, early intervention, periodic statement requirements and lender-placed insurance. In January 2018, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act regulatory amendments became effective that require us to collect, record and report substantially more data about originations, purchases, and applications for certain covered loans. The expanded

data fields include information such as applicant demographics, loan fees and costs, underwriting results, and other key loan and property characteristics.

 

The CFPB also has enforcement authority with respect to the conduct of third-party service providers of financial institutions. The CFPB has made it clear that it expects non-bank entities to maintain an effective process for managing risks associated with third-party vendor relationships, including compliance-related risks. In connection with this vendor risk management process, we are expected to perform due diligence reviews of potential vendors, review vendors’ policies and procedures and internal training materials to confirm compliance-related focus, include enforceable consequences in contracts with vendors regarding failure to comply with consumer protection requirements, and take prompt action, including terminating the relationship, in the event that vendors fail to meet our expectations.

 

In addition to its supervision and examination authority, the CFPB is authorized to conduct investigations to determine whether any person is engaging in, or has engaged in, conduct that violates federal consumer financial protection laws, and to initiate enforcement actions for such violations, regardless of its direct supervisory authority. Investigations may be conducted jointly with other regulators. In furtherance of its supervision and examination powers, the CFPB has the authority to impose monetary penalties for violations of applicable federal consumer financial laws, require remediation of practices and pursue administrative proceedings or litigation for violations of applicable federal consumer financial laws. The CFPB also has the authority to obtain cease and desist orders (which can include orders for restitution or rescission of contracts, as well as other kinds of affirmative relief) and monetary penalties ranging from $5,000 per day for ordinary violations of federal consumer financial laws to $25,000 per day for reckless violations and $1 million per day for knowing violations.

 

Rules and regulations promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act or by the CFPB, uncertainty regarding recent changes in leadership (including interim leadership) or authority levels within the CFPB, and actions taken or not taken by the CFPB could result in heightened federal and state regulation and oversight of our business activities, materially and adversely affect the manner in which we conduct our business, and increase costs and potential litigation associated with our business activities. 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.

 

We are highly dependent on U.S. government‑sponsored entities and government agencies, and any changes in these entities, their current roles or the leadership at such entities or their regulators could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our ability to generate revenues through mortgage loan sales depends to a significant degree on programs administered by GSEs, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government agencies, including Ginnie Mae, and others that facilitate the issuance of mortgage‑backed securities (“MBS”), in the secondary market. These Agencies play a critical role in the mortgage industry and we have significant business relationships with many of them. Presently, almost all of the newly originated conforming loans that we originate directly with borrowers or assist PMT in acquiring from mortgage lenders through our correspondent production activities qualify under existing standards for inclusion in MBS issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae. We also derive other material financial benefits from our Agency relationships, including the assumption of credit risk by certain of these Agencies on loans included in such MBS in exchange for our payment of guarantee fees and the ability to avoid certain loan inventory finance costs through streamlined loan funding and sale procedures.

 

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. Although the U.S. Treasury has committed capital to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these actions may not be adequate for their needs. 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.

 

The roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be significantly restructured, reduced or eliminated and the nature of the guarantees could be considerably limited relative to historical measurements. Elimination of the traditional roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or any changes to the nature or extent of the guarantees provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or the fees, terms and guidelines that govern our selling and servicing relationships with them, such as increases in the guarantee fees we are required to pay, initiatives that increase the number of repurchase requests and/or the manner in which they are pursued, or possible limits on delivery volumes imposed upon us and other seller/servicers, could also materially and adversely affect our business, including our ability to sell and securitize loans through our loan production segment, and the performance, liquidity and market value of our investments. Our ability to generate revenues from newly originated loans that we assist PMT in acquiring through its correspondent production business would be similarly affected. Moreover, any changes to the nature of the GSEs or their guarantee obligations could redefine what constitutes an Agency MBS and could have broad adverse implications for the market and our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our ability to generate revenues 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 lenders choose to sell directly to the Agencies rather than through loan aggregators like us, the number of loans available for purchase by aggregators is reduced, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Similarly, to the extent the Agencies increase the number of purchases and sales 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 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, including guidelines with respect to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We generally cannot negotiate these terms with the Agencies and they are subject to change at any time. 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.

 

In addition, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) has directed the GSEs to align their guidelines for servicing delinquent mortgages that they own or that back securities which they guarantee, which can result in monetary incentives for servicers that perform well and penalties for those that do not. The FHFA has also directed the GSEs to 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 eligibility requirements align the minimum financial requirements for entities to do business with the Agencies. These minimum financial requirements, which are described in Liquidity and Capital Resources, 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 adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, and this could significantly 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.

 

We may be subject to certain banking regulations that may limit our business activities.

 

As of December 31, 2018, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (“PNC”) owned approximately 22% of the outstanding voting common shares of BlackRock, Inc. Based on PNC’s interests in and relationships with BlackRock, Inc., BlackRock, Inc. is deemed to be a non-bank subsidiary of PNC. BlackRock, Inc. is an affiliate of BlackRock Mortgage Ventures, LLC, which is one of our largest equity holders. Due to these relationships, we are deemed to be a non-bank subsidiary of PNC, which is regulated as a financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended. As a non-bank subsidiary of PNC, we may be subject to certain banking regulations, including the supervision and regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Such banking regulations could limit the activities and the types of businesses that we may conduct. The Federal Reserve has broad enforcement authority over financial holding companies and their subsidiaries. The Federal Reserve could exercise its power to restrict PNC from having a non-bank subsidiary that is engaged in any activity that, in the Federal Reserve’s opinion, is unauthorized or constitutes an unsafe or unsound business practice, and could exercise its power to restrict us from engaging in any such activity. The Federal Reserve may also impose substantial fines and other penalties for violations that we may commit. To the extent that we, as a non-bank mortgage lender, are subject to banking regulations, we could be at a competitive disadvantage because many of our non-bank competitors are not subject to these same regulations.

 

In addition, provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act referred to as the “Volcker Rule” prohibit or restrict a bank holding company and its affiliates from conducting certain transactions with certain investment funds, including hedge funds and private equity funds (collectively “covered funds”), when it has an ownership interest in, sponsors or advises a covered fund. The Volcker Rule prohibits proprietary trading as defined by such rule, unless the trading is permitted by an exemption, such as for risk-mitigating hedging purposes. The Volcker Rule applies to us by virtue of our affiliation with PNC through BlackRock. The Volcker Rule limits our ability to acquire or retain an ownership interest in, sponsor, advise or manage covered funds, and limits investments in certain covered funds by our employees, among other restrictions. If a fund, whether newly created or existing, becomes a covered fund, then certain transactions between us

and the covered fund could be prohibited or restricted, or the fund may need to be restructured. These prohibitions, restrictions and limitations could disadvantage us against those competitors that are not subject to the Volcker Rule in the ability to manage covered funds and to retain employees.  Our failure to comply with the requirements of the Volcker Rule may adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Unlike competitors that are federally chartered banks, we are subject to the licensing and operational requirements of states and other jurisdictions that result in substantial compliance costs, and our business would be adversely affected if we lose our licenses.

 

Because we are not a federally chartered depository institution, we do not benefit from exemptions to state mortgage lending, loan servicing or debt collection licensing and regulatory requirements. We must comply with state licensing requirements and varying compliance requirements in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and regulatory changes may increase our costs through stricter licensing laws, disclosure laws or increased fees or may impose conditions to licensing that we or our personnel are unable to meet.

 

In most states in which we operate, a regulatory agency or agencies regulate and enforce laws relating to mortgage servicers and mortgage originators. These rules and regulations generally provide for licensing as a mortgage servicer, mortgage originator, loan modification underwriter, or third‑party debt collection specialist (or a combination thereof), requirements as to the form and content of employee compensation contracts and other documentation, licensing of our employees and those of independent contractors with whom we contract, and employee hiring background checks. They also set forth restrictions on advertising and collection practices and disclosure and record‑keeping requirements, and they establish a variety of borrowers’ rights. Future state legislation and changes in existing regulation may significantly increase our compliance costs or reduce the amount of ancillary income we are entitled to collect from borrowers or otherwise. This could make our business cost‑prohibitive in the affected state or states and could materially affect our business.

 

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, or the Investment Company Act. We believe that our subsidiary, PennyMac Loan Services, LLC (“PLS”), qualifies for the exemption provided in Section 3(c)(6) of the Investment Company Act because it has been, and is expected to continue to be, primarily engaged, directly or through majority-owned subsidiaries, in (1) the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages or other liens on and interests in real estate (from which not less than 25 percent of its gross income during its last fiscal year was and will continue to be derived), together with (2) an additional business or businesses other than investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities, namely the business of servicing mortgages. Although we expect not less than 25 percent of PLS’ gross income to be derived from originating, purchasing, or acquiring mortgages or liens on and interests in real estate, there can be no assurances that the composition of PLS’ gross income will remain the same over time.

 

To date, the SEC staff has provided limited guidance with respect to the applicability of Section 3(c)(6), and PLS has not sought a no-action letter from the SEC staff respecting its position. If PLS is ultimately unable to rely on the Section 3(c)(6) exemption due to a failure to meet the 25 percent of gross income test or to the extent that the SEC staff provides negative guidance regarding the applicability or scope of the exemption, we may be required to either (a) register as an investment company, or (b) substantially restructure our business, change our investment strategy and/or the manner in which we conduct our operations in order to qualify for another Investment Company Act exemption and avoid being required to register as an investment company, either of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. 

 

In the case of a restructuring, PLS could temporarily rely on Rule 3a-2 for its exemption from registration. Rule 3a-2 provides a safe harbor exemption, not to exceed one year, for companies that have a bona fide intent to be engaged in an excepted activity but temporarily fail to meet the requirements for an exemption. In such case, PLS would likely be

required to restructure its business by acquiring and/or disposing of assets in order to meet an exemption under Section 3(c)(5)(C), depending on the composition of its assets at the time. The SEC staff’s position on Section 3(c)(5)(C) generally requires that an issuer maintain at least 55% of its assets in mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate (qualifying assets) and at least 80% of its assets in qualifying assets plus real estate-related assets.  PLS would be more limited in its ability to hold MSRs or would be required to acquire and hold more mortgage loans and real estate to adjust the composition of its assets to meet the 55% and 80% tests.

 

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.

 

Liability relating to environmental matters may impact the value of properties that we may acquire or the properties underlying our investments.

 

Under various U.S. federal, state and local laws, an owner or operator of real property may become liable for the costs of removal of certain hazardous substances released on its property. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator was responsible for, or aware of, the release of such hazardous substances. The presence of hazardous substances may also adversely affect an owner’s ability to sell real estate, borrow using real estate as collateral or make debt payments to us. In addition, if we take title to a property, the presence of hazardous substances may adversely affect our ability to sell the property, and we may become liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for various fines, damages or remediation costs. Any of these liabilities or events may materially and adversely affect the fair value of the relevant asset and/or our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Market Risks

 

Our mortgage banking revenues are highly dependent on macroeconomic and United States 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 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. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

The industry in which we operate is highly competitive, and is likely to become more competitive, and decreased margins resulting from increased competition or our inability to compete successfully could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

We operate in a highly competitive industry that could become even more competitive as a result of economic, legislative, regulatory and technological changes. With respect to mortgage loan production, we face competition in such areas as mortgage loan offerings, rates, fees and customer service. With respect to servicing, we face competition in areas such as fees, cost to service and service levels, including our performance in reducing delinquencies and entering into successful modifications.

 

Large commercial banks and savings institutions and other non-bank mortgage originators and servicers are becoming increasingly competitive in the origination or acquisition of newly originated mortgage loans and the servicing of mortgage loans. Many of these institutions have significantly greater resources and access to capital and financing arrangements than we do, which may give them the benefit of a lower cost of funds. Additionally, our existing and potential competitors may decide to modify their business models to compete more directly with our loan production and servicing models. For example, other non‑bank loan servicers may try to leverage their servicing relationships and expertise to develop or expand a loan origination business. Since the withdrawal or decreased participation of a number of large participants from these markets following the financial crisis in 2008, there has been a steady increase in the number of non‑bank participants. As more non‑bank entities enter these markets and as more commercial banks aggressively compete, our mortgage banking businesses may generate lower volumes and/or margins. We believe that changes in supply and demand within the marketplace have been driving lower margins in recent periods, which is reflected in our results of operations and in our gains on mortgage loans held for sale. If we are unable to grow our loan production volumes or if our margins become compressed, then our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

In addition, technological advances and heightened e‑commerce activities have increased consumers’ access to products and services. This has intensified competition among banks and non‑banks in offering and servicing mortgage loans. We may be unable to compete successfully in our mortgage banking businesses and this 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.

 

Our loan production segment consists of our consumer direct lending activities, in which we originate mortgage loans directly with borrowers through telephone call centers or the Internet, our correspondent production activities, in which we facilitate the acquisition by PMT from correspondent sellers of newly originated mortgage loans that have been underwritten to our standards and, in the case of government loans, acquire such loans from PMT, and our broker direct lending activities, in which we provide brokers with a broad range of mortgage loan products and programs.

 

Our correspondent production activities are relationship driven. As of December 31, 2018, we worked with 710 approved mortgage lenders, but these lenders are not contractually obligated to do business with us or PMT, and our competitors also have relationships with these lenders and actively compete against us in our efforts to expand PMT’s network of approved mortgage lenders. To date, we have grown our loan production volumes with mortgage lenders on the basis of our product offerings, technical knowledge, manufacturing quality, speed of execution, interest rates and fees. If we are not able to consistently maintain these qualities of execution, our reputation and existing relationships with mortgage lenders could be damaged. We may not be able to maintain PMT’s existing relationships or develop new relationships with mortgage lenders or our new mortgage products may not gain widespread acceptance.

 

Our current volume of consumer direct lending originations, which is based in large part on the refinancing of existing mortgage loans that we service, is highly dependent on interest rates and may decline if interest rates increase. Our non-servicing portfolio consumer direct lending platform may not succeed because of the referral‑driven nature of our industry. For example, the origination of purchase money mortgage loans is greatly influenced by traditional business clients in the home buying process such as real estate agents and builders. As a result, our ability to secure relationships with such traditional business clients will influence our ability to grow our purchase money mortgage loan volume and, thus, our consumer direct lending business. We may not be successful in establishing such relationships. In addition, to grow our consumer direct lending business, we will need to convert leads regarding prospective borrowers into funded loans, the success of which depends on the pricing we offer relative to the pricing of our competitors and our operational ability to process, underwrite and close loans. Institutions that compete with us in this regard may have significantly greater access to capital or other resources than we do, which may give them the benefit of a lower cost of operations.

 

On the other hand, we may experience significant growth in our correspondent production, consumer direct lending and broker direct lending loan volumes. If we do not effectively manage our growth, the quality of our

correspondent production and consumer direct lending operations could suffer, which could negatively affect our brand and operating results. Our correspondent production and consumer direct lending operations are also subject to overall market factors that can 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.

 

We may be unable to maintain sufficient capital and liquidity to meet the financing requirements of our business.

 

We will require new and continued debt financing to facilitate our anticipated growth. Accordingly, our ability to finance our operations and repay maturing obligations rests in large part on our ability to borrow money. We are generally required to renew our financing arrangements each year, which exposes us to refinancing and interest rate risks. Our ability to refinance existing debt and borrow additional funds is affected by a variety of factors beyond our control including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No assurance can be given that any refinancing or additional financing will be possible when needed, that we will be able to negotiate acceptable terms or that market conditions will be favorable at the times that we require such refinancing or additional financing.  If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital to meet the financing requirements of our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

 

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.

 

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 direct lending business and the government‑insured loans acquired through our correspondent production operations 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, for which financing has historically been difficult to obtain. We currently leverage certain of our MSRs under secured financing arrangements. Our Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MSRs are pledged to secure borrowings under a loan and security agreement, while our Ginnie Mae MSRs and related excess servicing spread financing (“ESS”) are pledged to a special purpose entity, which issues variable funding notes and term notes that are secured by such Ginnie Mae assets and repaid through the cash flows received by the special purpose entity as the lender under a repurchase agreement with PLS. 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 and ESS 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.

 

We leverage certain of our other assets under a capital lease and a revolving credit agreement and 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 credit and financing agreements contain financial and restrictive covenants that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

The lenders under our credit and financing agreements require us and/or our subsidiaries to comply with various financial 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 to the lenders under our repurchase agreements or otherwise

service the debt incurred under our other credit and financing agreements. Our lenders also require us to maintain minimum amounts of cash or cash equivalents sufficient to maintain a specified liquidity position. If we are unable to maintain these liquidity levels, we could be forced to sell additional assets at a loss and our financial condition could deteriorate rapidly.

 

Our existing credit and financing agreements also impose other financial and non‑financial covenants and restrictions on us that impact our flexibility to determine our operating policies and investment strategies by limiting our ability to incur certain types of indebtedness; grant liens; engage in consolidations, mergers and asset sales, make restricted payments and investments; enter into transactions with affiliates; and amend, modify or prepay certain indebtedness. In our credit and financing agreements, we agree to certain covenants and restrictions and we make representations about the assets sold or pledged under these agreements. We also agree to certain events of default (subject to certain materiality thresholds and grace periods), including payment defaults, breaches of financial and other covenants and/or certain representations and warranties, cross-defaults, servicer termination events, ratings downgrades, guarantor defaults, bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings and other events of default and remedies customary for these types of agreements. If we default on our obligations under a credit or financing agreement, fail to comply with certain covenants and restrictions or breach our representations and are unable to cure, the lender may be able to terminate the transaction or its commitments, accelerate any amounts outstanding, require us to post additional collateral or repurchase the assets, and/or cease entering into any other credit transactions with us.

 

Because our credit and financing agreements typically contain cross‑default provisions, a default that occurs under any one agreement could allow the lenders under our other agreements to also declare a default, thereby exposing us to a variety of lender remedies, such as those described above, and potential losses arising therefrom. Any losses that we incur on our credit and financing agreements could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our earnings may decrease because of changes in prevailing interest rates.

 

Our profitability is directly affected by changes in prevailing interest rates. The following are the material risks we face related to increases in prevailing interest rates:

 

 

 

 

 

The following are the material risks we face related to decreases in prevailing interest rates:

 

 

 

An event of default, a negative ratings action by a rating agency, 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 fashion, or at all, in response to increases or decreases in mortgage production volume resulting from changes in prevailing interest rates.

 

Any of the increases or decreases discussed above could have a material adverse effect on 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 to reduce our exposure to adverse changes in interest rates. Our hedging activity will vary in scope based on the risks hedged, the level of interest rates, the type of investments held, and other changing market conditions. 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 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 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, changes in interest rates 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.

 

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 decrease the fair value of our MSRs and adversely affect our consumer direct business, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

As of December 31, 2018, approximately 17% of the aggregate outstanding loan balance in our servicing portfolio was secured by properties located in California.  To the extent that California or other 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 consumer direct lending business. 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.

 

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. Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgage loans must make larger monthly payments when the interest rates on those mortgage loans adjust upward from their initial fixed rates or low introductory rates to the rates computed in accordance with the applicable index and margin. Increases in monthly payments may increase the delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures on a significant number of the loans that we service.

 

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. 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.

 

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 credit facilities 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. Disruptions in the general MBS market have occurred in the past. 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.

 

Related Party Risks

 

We rely on PMT as a significant source of financing for, and revenue related to, our mortgage banking business, and the termination of, or material adverse change in, the terms of this relationship, or a material adverse change to PMT or its operations, would adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

PMT is the counterparty that currently acquires all of the newly originated mortgage loans in connection with our correspondent production operations. A significant portion of our income is derived from a fulfillment fee earned in connection with PMT’s acquisition of conventional loans. We are able to conduct our correspondent production operations without having to incur the significant additional debt financing that would be required for us to purchase those loans from the originating lender. In the case of government‑insured loans, we purchase them from PMT at PMT’s cost plus a sourcing fee and fulfill them for our own account and sell the loans, typically by pooling the federally insured or guaranteed loans together into an MBS which Ginnie Mae guarantees. We earn interest income and gains or losses during the holding period and upon the sale of these securities, and we retain the MSRs with respect to the loans. If this relationship with PMT is terminated by PMT or PMT reduces the volume of these loans that it acquires for any reason, we would have to acquire these loans from the correspondent sellers for our own account, something that we may be unable to do, or enter into another similar counterparty arrangement with a third party, which we may not be able to enter into on terms that are as favorable to us, or at all.

 

The management agreement, the mortgage banking services agreement and certain of the other agreements that we have entered into with PMT contain cross‑termination provisions that allow PMT to terminate one or more of those agreements under certain circumstances where another one of such agreements is terminated. Accordingly, the termination of this relationship with PMT, or a material change in the terms thereof that is adverse to us, would likely have a material adverse effect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The terms of these agreements extend until September 12, 2020, subject to automatic renewal for additional 18-month periods, but any of the agreements may be terminated earlier under certain circumstances or otherwise non-renewed. If any agreement is terminated or non-renewed and not replaced by a new agreement, it would materially and adversely affect our ability to continue to execute our business plan.

 

We expect that PMT will continue to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, it is possible that PMT may not meet the requirements for qualification as a REIT. If PMT were to lose its REIT status, corporate-level income taxes, including alternative minimum taxes, would apply to all of PMT's taxable income at federal and state tax rates. Either of these scenarios would potentially impair PMT’s financial position and its ability to

raise capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

A significant portion of our loan servicing operations are conducted pursuant to subservicing contracts with PMT, and any termination by PMT of these contracts, or a material change in the terms thereof that is adverse to us, would adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

PMT, as the owner of a substantial number of all of the MSRs or mortgage loans that we subservice, may, under certain circumstances, terminate our subservicing contract with or without cause, in some instances with little notice and little to no compensation. Upon any such termination, it would be difficult to replace such a large volume of subservicing in a short period of time, or perhaps at all. Accordingly, we may not generate as much revenue from subservicing for other third parties. If we were to have our subservicing terminated by PMT, or if there was a change in the terms under which we perform subservicing for PMT that was material and adverse to us, this would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

PMT has an exclusive right to acquire the loans that are produced through our correspondent production operations, which may limit the revenues that we could otherwise earn in respect of those loans.

 

Our mortgage banking services agreement with PMT requires PLS to provide fulfillment services for correspondent production activities exclusively to PMT as long as PMT has the legal and financial capacity to purchase correspondent loans. As a result, the revenue that we earn with respect to these loans will be limited to the fulfillment fees that we earn in connection with the production of these loans, which may be less than the revenues that we might otherwise be able to realize by acquiring these loans ourselves and selling them in the secondary loan market.

 

Our financings of MSRs using excess servicing spread exposes us to significant risks.

 

We have previously sold to PMT or its subsidiaries, from time to time, the right to receive certain ESS arising from MSRs that we owned or acquired. The ESS represents the difference between our contractual servicing fee with the applicable Agency and the base servicing fee that we retain as compensation for servicing the related mortgage loans upon our sale of the ESS.

 

As a condition of our sale of the ESS, PMT was required to subordinate its interests in the ESS to those of the applicable Agency. With respect to our Ginnie Mae MSRs, we pledged our interest in such MSRs and PMT’s interest in the related ESS to a special purpose entity, which issues variable funding notes and term notes that are secured by such Ginnie Mae assets and repaid through the cash flows received by the special purpose entity as the lender under a repurchase agreement with PLS. Accordingly, our interest in the Ginnie Mae MSRs and PMT’s interest in the related ESS are also subordinated to the rights of an indenture trustee on behalf of the note holders to which the special purpose entity issues its variable funding notes and term notes under an indenture, pursuant to which the indenture trustee has a blanket lien on all of our Ginnie Mae MSRs (including the ESS we sell to PMT and record as a financing).

 

The indenture trustee, on behalf of the note holders, may liquidate our Ginnie Mae MSRs along with PMT’s interest in the ESS to the extent there exists an event of default under the indenture, the result of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. In the event PMT’s ESS is liquidated as a result of certain of our actions or inactions, we generally would be required to indemnify PMT under the applicable spread acquisition agreement. A claim by PMT for the loss of its ESS as a result of our actions or inactions would likely be significant in size and could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

In connection with PLS’ repurchase agreement with the special purpose entity, we also provide pass through financing to PMT under a repurchase agreement to facilitate its financing of the ESS it acquires from us. The repurchase agreement subjects us to the credit risk of PMT. To the extent PMT defaults in its payments of principal and interest under its repurchase agreement with us, we would still be required to make the allocable and corresponding payments under our repurchase agreement with the special purpose entity. To the extent PMT fails to make such payments of principal and interest to us or otherwise defaults under its repurchase agreement and we are unable to make the allocable

and corresponding payments under our repurchase agreement with the special purpose entity, this could also create an event of default that could cause a cross default under other financing arrangements and/or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Other Risks

 

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. We believe that, as a result of the current market environment, many purchasers of mortgage loans, including the Agencies, are particularly aware of the conditions under which loan originators or sellers must indemnify them against losses related to purchased loans, or repurchase such loans, and would benefit from enforcing any indemnity or repurchase remedies they may have. Our loan sale agreements with purchasers, including the Agencies, contain provisions that generally require us to indemnify or repurchase these loans if:

 

 

 

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.

 

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 $21.2 million as of December 31, 2018. 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 prime servicing portfolio, which consists primarily of recently originated loans, has a limited performance history, which makes our future results of operations more difficult to predict.

 

The likelihood of mortgage delinquencies and defaults, and the associated risks to our business, including higher costs to service such loans and a greater risk that we may incur losses due to repurchase or indemnification demands, change as loans season. Newly originated loans typically exhibit low delinquency and default rates as the changes in economic conditions, individual financial circumstances and other factors that drive borrower delinquency often do not appear for months or years. Highly seasoned loan portfolios, in which borrowers have demonstrated years of performance on their mortgage payments, also tend to exhibit low delinquency and default rates. Most of the loans in our prime servicing portfolio were originated in the years 2016 through 2018. As a result, we expect the delinquency rate and defaults in the prime servicing portfolio to increase in future periods as the portfolio seasons, but we cannot predict the magnitude of this impact on our 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. A delay in our ability to collect advances may adversely affect our liquidity, and our inability to be reimbursed for advances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits of potential future acquisitions of MSRs, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of potential future acquisitions of servicing portfolios will depend, in part, on our ability to appropriately service any such assets. The process of acquiring these assets may disrupt our business and may not result in the full benefits expected. The risks associated with these acquisitions include, among others, unanticipated issues in integrating information regarding the new loans to be serviced into our information technology systems, and the diversion of management’s attention from other ongoing business concerns. We have also seen increased scrutiny by the Agencies and regulators with respect to large servicing acquisitions, the effect of which

could reduce the willingness of selling institutions to pursue MSR sales and/or impede our ability to complete MSR acquisitions. Moreover, if we inappropriately value the assets that we acquire or the fair value of the assets that we acquire declines after we acquire them, the resulting charges may negatively affect both the carrying value of the assets on our balance sheet and our earnings. Furthermore, if we incur additional indebtedness to finance an acquisition, the acquired servicing portfolio may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows to service that additional indebtedness. Unsuitable or unsuccessful acquisitions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Risks Related to our Investment Management Segment

 

Market conditions could reduce the fair value of the assets that we manage, which would reduce our management and incentive fees.

 

A significant portion of the fees that we earn under our investment management agreements with clients are based on the fair value of the assets that we manage. The fair values of the securities and other assets held in the portfolios that we manage and, therefore, our assets under management may decline due to any number of factors beyond our control, including, among others, a decline in housing, changes to interest rates, stock or bond market movements a general economic downturn, political uncertainty or acts of terrorism. The economic outlook cannot be predicted with certainty and we continue to operate in a challenging business environment. If volatile market conditions cause a decline in the fair value of our assets under management, that decline in fair value could materially reduce our management fees and incentive fees under our management contract with PMT and adversely affect our revenues. If our revenues decline without a commensurate reduction in our expenses, our net income will be reduced.

 

We currently manage assets for a single client, the loss of which could significantly reduce our management and incentive fees and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

 

Substantially all of our management and incentive fees result from our management of PMT. The term of the management agreement that we have entered into with PMT, as amended, expires on September 12, 2020, subject to automatic renewal for additional 18-month periods, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the agreement.  In the event of a termination of one or more related party agreements by PMT in certain circumstances, we may be entitled to a termination fee under our management agreement. However, the termination of such management agreement and the loss of PMT as a client would significantly affect our investment management segment and negatively impact our management fees and incentive fees.

 

The historical returns on the assets that we select and manage for PMT, and our resulting management and incentive fees, may not be indicative of future results.

 

The historical returns of the assets that we manage should not be considered indicative of the future returns on those assets or future returns on other assets that we may select for investment by PMT. The investment performance that is achieved for the assets that we manage varies over time, and the nature and mix of assets we manage has changed significantly over the past several years. As a result, the change and variance in investment performance can be significant. Accordingly, the management and incentive fees that we have earned in the past based on those returns should not be considered indicative of the management or incentive fees that we may earn in the future from managing those same assets or from managing other assets for PMT. A decline in the investment performance of our managed assets will also adversely affect our ability to attract and retain clients.

 

Changes in regulations applicable to our investment management segment could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

The legislative and regulatory environment in which we operate has undergone significant changes in the recent past. We believe that significant regulatory changes in the investment management industry are likely to continue, which is likely to subject industry participants to additional, more costly and generally more detailed regulation. New laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, applicable to us and our clients may adversely

affect our business. Our ability to function in this environment will depend on our ability to monitor and promptly react to legislative and regulatory changes.

 

Certain provisions of the Dodd‑Frank Act will, and other provisions may, increase regulatory burdens and reporting and related compliance costs on our investment management segment. The scope of many provisions of the Dodd‑Frank Act is being determined by implementing regulations, some of which are subject to additional proposal and promulgation periods. The SEC requires investment advisers such as us who are registered with the SEC and advise one or more funds to provide certain information about their funds and assets under management, including the amount of borrowings, concentration of ownership and other performance information. These filings have required, and will continue to require, significant investments in people, resources and systems to ensure timely and accurate reporting. The Dodd‑Frank Act will affect a broad range of market participants with whom we interact or may interact, including banks, non‑bank financial institutions, rating agencies, mortgage brokers, credit unions, insurance companies and broker‑dealers, and may cause us or PMT to become subject to further regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Regulatory changes that will affect other market participants are likely to change the way in which we conduct business with our counterparties. The uncertainty regarding the continued implementation of the Dodd‑Frank Act and its impact on the investment management industry and us cannot be predicted at this time but will continue to be a risk for our business.

 

We may be adversely affected as a result of new or revised legislation or regulations imposed by the SEC, other U.S. or non‑U.S. governmental regulatory authorities or self‑regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets. We also may be adversely affected by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules by these governmental authorities and self‑regulatory organizations, as well as by U.S. and non‑U.S. courts. It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be imposed on us or the markets in which we trade, or whether any of the proposals will become law. Compliance with any new laws or regulations could add to our compliance burden and costs and adversely affect the manner in which we conduct business, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our failure to comply with the extensive amount of regulation applicable to our investment management segment could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our investment management segment is subject to extensive regulation in the United States, primarily at the federal level, including regulation of PCM by the SEC under the Advisers Act. The requirements imposed by our regulators are designed primarily to ensure the integrity of the financial markets and to protect investors in any entity that we advise and are not designed to protect our stockholders. Consequently, these regulations often serve to limit our activities.

 

These requirements relate to, among other things, fiduciary duties to clients, solicitation agreements, conflicts of interest, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, disclosure requirements, limitations on agency cross and principal transactions between an adviser and advisory clients and general anti‑fraud prohibitions. More generally, we are required to maintain an effective compliance program, and we have engaged an outside third party compliance advisor to implement and administer a substantial portion of our compliance program. Registered investment advisers are also subject to routine periodic examinations by the staff of the SEC.

 

We also regularly rely on exemptions and exclusions from various requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Investment Company Act and ERISA. These exemptions are sometimes highly complex and may in certain circumstances depend on compliance by third parties and service providers who we do not control. If for any reason these exemptions were to be revoked or challenged or otherwise become unavailable to us, we could be subject to regulatory action or third‑party claims, and our business could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our business combines the production and servicing of loans and investment management, the combination of which presents particular compliance challenges. For example, regulations applicable to our investment management business that are easily applied to traditional investments, such as stocks and bonds, may be more difficult to apply to a

portfolio of mortgage loans, and the regulations applicable to our investment management business can require procedures that are uncommon, impractical or difficult in our loan production and servicing businesses.

 

The failure by us or our service providers to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or the failure of our outside third party compliance advisor to design and successfully implement and administer our compliance program, could result in fines, suspensions of individual employees or other sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Even if an investigation or proceeding did not result in a fine or sanction or the fine or sanction imposed against us or our employees by a regulator were small in monetary amount, the adverse publicity relating to an investigation, proceeding or imposition of these fines or sanctions could harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing clients.

 

We may encounter conflicts of interest in trying to appropriately allocate our time and services between activities for our own account and for PMT, or in trying to appropriately allocate investment opportunities among ourselves and for PMT.

 

Pursuant to our management agreement with PMT, we are obligated to provide PMT with the services of our senior management team, and the members of that team are required to devote such time as is necessary and appropriate, commensurate with the level of activity of PMT. The members of our senior management team may have conflicts in allocating their time and services between our operations and the activities of PMT and any other entities or accounts that we may manage in the future.

 

In addition, we and the other entities or accounts that we may manage may participate in some of PMT’s investments now or in the future, which may not be the result of arm’s length negotiations and may involve or later result in potential conflicts between our interests in the investments and those of PMT or such other entities. Any such potential or actual conflicts of interest could damage our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

We are subject to significant financial and reputational risks from potential liability arising from lawsuits, and regulatory and government action.

 

We face significant legal risks in our business, and the volume of claims and amount of damages, penalties and fines claimed in litigation, and regulatory and government proceedings against us and other financial institutions remains high. Greater than expected investigation costs and litigation, including class action lawsuits associated with compliance related issues, substantial legal liability or significant regulatory or government action against us could have adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations or cause significant reputational harm to us, which in turn could adversely impact our business results and prospects. We may experience a significant volume of litigation and other disputes, including claims for contractual indemnification, with counterparties regarding relative rights and responsibilities. Consumers, clients and other counterparties may also become increasingly litigious.

 

We also may be exposed to the risk of litigation by investors in clients that we manage from time to time if our management advice is alleged to constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct. Investors could sue us to recover amounts lost by those entities due to our alleged misconduct, up to the entire amount of loss. Further, we may be subject to litigation arising from investor dissatisfaction with the performance of any such entities that we manage or from allegations that we improperly exercised control or influence over those entities. In addition, we are exposed to risks of litigation or investigation relating to transactions which presented conflicts of interest that were not properly addressed. In such actions, we would be obligated to bear legal, settlement and other costs (which may be in excess of available insurance coverage). In addition, although we are generally indemnified by the entities that we manage, our rights to indemnification may be challenged. If we are required to incur all or a portion of the costs arising out of litigation or investigations as a result of inadequate insurance proceeds or failure to obtain indemnification from the entities that we manage, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

 

Risks Related to Our Business in General

 

The loss of the services of our senior managers could adversely affect our business.

 

The experience of our senior managers is a valuable asset to us. Our management team has significant experience in the mortgage loan production and servicing industry and the investment management industry. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies relating to our senior managers. The loss of the services of our senior managers for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our business could suffer if we fail to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce.

 

Our future success will depend on our ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified personnel for all areas of our organization, in particular skilled managers, loan officers, underwriters, loan servicers and debt default specialists. Trained and experienced personnel are in high demand and may be in short supply in some areas. Many of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment. In addition, we invest significant time and expense in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. We may not be able to attract, develop and maintain an adequate skilled workforce necessary to operate our businesses and labor expenses may increase as a result of a shortage in the supply of qualified personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain such personnel, we may not be able to take advantage of acquisitions and other growth opportunities that may be presented to us and this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

We depend on counterparties and vendors to provide services that are critical to our business, which subjects us to a variety of risks.

 

We have a number of counterparties and vendors, who provide us with financial, technology and other services that are critical to support our businesses. If our current counterparties and vendors were to stop providing services to us on acceptable terms, we may be unable to procure alternative services from other counterparties or vendors in a timely and efficient manner and on similarly acceptable terms, or at all. Some of these counterparties and vendors have significant operations outside of the United States. If we or our vendors had to curtail or cease operations in these countries due to political unrest or natural disasters and then transfer some or all of these operations to another geographic area, we could experience disruptions in service and incur significant transition costs as well as higher future overhead costs. With respect to vendors engaged to perform certain servicing activities, we are required to assess their compliance with various regulations and establish procedures to provide reasonable assurance that the vendor’s activities comply in all material respects with such regulations. In the event that a vendor’s activities are not in compliance, it could negatively impact our relationships with our regulators, as well as our business and operations. Further, we may incur significant costs to resolve any such disruptions in service which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Our failure to deal appropriately with various issues that may give rise to reputational risk, including conflicts of interest, legal and regulatory requirements, could cause harm to our business and adversely affect our earnings.

 

Maintaining our reputation is critical to attracting and retaining clients, customers, trading counterparties, investors and employees.  If we fail to deal with, or appear to fail to deal with various issues that may give rise to reputational risk, we could significantly harm our business prospects and earnings.  Such issues include, but are not limited to, conflicts of interest, legal and regulatory requirements, and any of the other risks discussed in this Item 1A.

 

Certain of our officers also serve as officers of PMT. As we expand the scope of our businesses, we increasingly confront potential conflicts of interest relating to investment activities that we manage for our clients.  In addition, investors may perceive conflicts of interest regarding investment decisions and wind-down strategies for funds in which certain of our officers have made and may continue to make personal investments. Similarly, conflicts of interest may exist regarding decisions about the allocation of specific investment opportunities between funds in which we receive an allocation of profits as the general partner and funds in which we do not.

 

The SEC and certain regulators have increased their scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest, and as we experience growth in our businesses, we must continue to monitor and mitigate or otherwise address any conflicts between our interests and those of our clients. We have implemented procedures and controls to be followed when real or potential conflicts of interest arise, but it is possible that potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to the dissatisfaction of, or litigation by, our stockholders, investors in any entity that we advise or regulatory enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult and our reputation could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more potential or actual conflicts of interest. Reputational risk incurred in connection with conflicts of interest could negatively affect our business, strain our working relationships with regulators and government agencies, expose us to litigation and regulatory action, impact our ability to attract and retain clients, customers, trading counterparties, investors and employees and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Reputational risk, or the risk to our business, earnings and capital from negative public opinion, is inherent in our business and can result from a number of factors. Negative public opinion can result from our actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities, including lending and debt collection practices, corporate governance, and actions taken by government regulators and community organizations in response to those activities. Negative public opinion can also result from social media and media coverage, whether accurate or not. These factors can tarnish or otherwise strain our working relationships with regulators and government agencies, expose us to litigation and regulatory action, negatively affect our ability to attract and retain customers, trading counterparties and employees and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Initiating new business activities, developing new products or significantly expanding existing business activities may expose us to new risks and will increase our cost of doing business.

 

Initiating new business activities, developing new products, such as the recently launched home equity line of credit product, or significantly expanding existing business activities, such as our entry into broker direct and consumer direct lending and non-delegated correspondent production, are ways to grow our businesses and respond to changing circumstances in our industry; however, they may expose us to new risks and regulatory compliance requirements. We cannot be certain that we will be able to manage these risks and compliance requirements effectively. Furthermore, our efforts may not succeed, and any revenues we earn from any new or expanded business initiative may not be sufficient to offset the initial and ongoing costs of that initiative, which would result in a loss with respect to that initiative.

 

Our risk management efforts may not be effective.

 

We could incur substantial losses and our business operations could be disrupted if we are unable to effectively identify, manage, monitor, and mitigate financial risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, prepayment risk, liquidity risk, and other market-related risks, as well as operational and legal risks related to our business, assets, and liabilities. We also are subject to various laws, regulations and rules that are not industry specific, including employment laws related to employee hiring and termination practices, health and safety laws, environmental laws and other federal, state and local laws, regulations and rules in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Our risk management policies, procedures, and techniques may not be sufficient to identify all of the risks to which we are exposed, mitigate the risks we have identified, or identify additional risks to which we may become subject in the future. Expansion of our business activities may also result in our being exposed to risks to which we have not previously been exposed or may increase our exposure to certain types of risks, and we may not effectively identify, manage, monitor, and mitigate these risks as our business activities change or increase.

 

We could be harmed by misconduct or fraud that is difficult to detect.

 

We are exposed to risks relating to misconduct by our employees, contractors we use, or other third parties with whom we have relationships. For example, our employees could execute unauthorized transactions, use our assets improperly or without authorization, perform improper activities, use confidential information for improper purposes, or misrecord or otherwise try to hide improper activities from us. This type of misconduct could also relate to assets we manage for others through our investment advisory subsidiary, and can be difficult to detect. If not prevented or

detected, misconduct by employees, contractors, or others could result in losses, claims or enforcement actions against us, or could seriously harm our reputation. Our controls may not be effective in detecting this type of activity.

 

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately determine our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, our stockholders could lose confidence in our financial results, which could harm our business and the market value of our common stock.

 

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. We may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. Section 404 of the Sarbanes‑Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes‑Oxley Act”) requires that we evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. We cannot be certain that we will be successful in maintaining adequate control over our financial reporting and financial processes. Furthermore, as we rapidly grow our businesses, our internal controls will become more complex, and we will require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires our auditors to formally attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. 

 

If we cannot maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, or our independent registered public accounting firm cannot provide an unqualified attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investor confidence and, in turn, the market price of our common stock could decline. If we or our independent auditors discover a material weakness, the disclosure of that fact, even if quickly remedied, could result in an event of default under one or more of our lending arrangements and/or reduce the market value of shares of our common stock. Additionally, the existence of any material weakness or significant deficiency could require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weakness or significant deficiency, and management may not be able to remediate any such material weakness or significant deficiency in a timely manner, or at all. Accordingly, our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in misstatements of our financial results or restatements of our financial statements or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Accounting rules for certain of our transactions are highly complex and involve significant judgment and assumptions. Changes in accounting interpretations or assumptions could impact our financial statements.

 

Accounting rules for mortgage loan sales and securitizations, valuations of financial instruments and MSRs, investment consolidations, income taxes and other aspects of our operations are highly complex and involve significant judgment and assumptions. These complexities could lead to a delay in preparation of financial information and the delivery of this information to our stockholders and also increase the risk of errors and restatements, as well as the cost of compliance. Changes in accounting interpretations or assumptions could impact our financial statements and our ability to timely prepare our financial statements. Our inability to timely prepare our financial statements in the future would likely adversely affect our share price significantly.

 

The success and growth of our business depends upon our ability to adapt to and implement technological changes.

 

Our mortgage loan production businesses are dependent upon our ability to effectively interface with our borrowers, mortgage lenders and other third parties and to efficiently process loan applications and closings. The direct lending and correspondent production processes are becoming more dependent upon technological advancement, such as our continued ability to process applications over the Internet, accept electronic signatures, provide process status updates instantly and other borrower- or counterparty-expected conveniences.

Similarly, our servicing business is dependent on our ability to effectively interface with our customers and investors, as well as service mortgage loans in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the contractual requirements of such investors. We have developed proprietary servicing technology to automate our workflows in order to better meet these needs while reducing servicing costs and creating sustainable efficiencies.

Maintaining and improving these new technologies and becoming proficient with them requires significant capital expenditures. As these technological advancements and investor and compliance requirements increase in the future, we will need to fully develop these technological capabilities in order to remain competitive, and we will need to implement, execute and maintain them in an operating and regulatory environment that exposes us to significant risk. Any failure by us to develop, implement, execute or maintain these technological capabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Cybersecurity risks, cyber incidents and technology failures may adversely affect our business by causing a disruption to our operations, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information, and/or damage to our business relationships, all of which could negatively impact our financial results.

 

A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. These incidents may be an intentional attack or an unintentional event and could involve gaining unauthorized access to our information systems for purposes of theft of certain personally identifiable information of consumers, misappropriating assets, stealing confidential information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. The result of these incidents may include disrupted operations, misstated or unreliable financial data, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance costs, litigation and damage to our investor relationships.  

 

As our reliance on rapidly changing technology has increased, so have the risks posed to our information systems, both proprietary and those provided to us by third-party service providers such as cloud-based computing service providers.  System disruptions and failures caused by fire, power loss, telecommunications outages, unauthorized intrusion, computer viruses and disabling devices, natural disasters and other similar events may interrupt or delay our ability to provide services to our customers.

 

Despite our efforts to ensure the integrity of our systems our investment in significant physical and technological security measures, employee training, contractual precautions and business continuity plans, and our implementation of policies and procedures designed to help mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber intrusions, there can be no assurance that any such cyber intrusions will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed. We also may not be able to anticipate or implement effective preventive measures against all security breaches, especially because the methods of attack change frequently or may not be recognized until after such attack has been launched, and because security attacks can originate from a wide variety of sources, including third parties such as persons involved with organized crime or associated with external service providers. We are also held accountable for the actions and inactions of our third-party vendors regarding cybersecurity and other consumer-related matters.

 

Any of the foregoing events could result in violations of applicable privacy and other laws, financial loss to us or to our customers, loss of confidence in our security measures, customer dissatisfaction, additional regulatory scrutiny, significant litigation exposure and harm to our reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence or war may cause disruptions in our operations and in the financial markets, and could materially and adversely affect the real estate industry generally and our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence or war may cause disruptions in the U.S. financial markets, including the real estate capital markets, and negatively impact the U.S. economy in general. Such attacks could also cause disruptions in our operations. Any future terrorist attacks, the anticipation of any such attacks, the consequences of any military or other response by the United States and its allies, and other armed conflicts could cause consumer confidence and spending to decrease or result in increased volatility in the United States and worldwide financial markets and economy. The economic impact of these events could also materially and adversely affect the credit quality of some of our loans and investments and the properties underlying our interests.

 

We may suffer losses as a result of the adverse impact of any future attacks and these losses may adversely impact our performance and may cause the market value of our common stock to decline or be more volatile. A

prolonged economic slowdown, recession or declining real estate values could impair the performance of our investments and harm our financial condition and results of operations, increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. We cannot predict the severity of the effect that potential future armed conflicts and terrorist attacks would have on us. Losses resulting from these types of events may not be fully insurable.

 

We are subject to certain risks associated with investing in real estate and real estate related assets, including risks of loss from adverse weather conditions and man-made or natural disasters, which may cause disruptions in our operations and could materially and adversely affect the real estate industry generally and our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Weather conditions and man-made or natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, fires and other environmental conditions can damage properties that we own or that collateralize loans we own or service. In addition, the properties where we conduct business could be adversely impacted. Future adverse weather conditions and man-made or natural disasters could also adversely impact the demand for, and value of, our assets, as well as the cost to service or manage such assets, directly impact the value of our assets through damage, destruction or loss, and thereafter materially impact the availability or cost of insurance to protect against these events. Although we believe our owned real estate and the properties collateralizing our loan assets or underlying our MSR assets are adequately covered by insurance, we cannot predict at this time if we or our borrowers will be able to obtain appropriate coverage at a reasonable cost in the future, or if we will be able to continue to pass along all of the costs of insurance. In addition, there is a risk that one or more of the insurers of property in which we hold an interest may not be able to fulfill their obligations with respect to claims payments due to a deterioration in its financial condition or may even cancel policies due to increasing costs of providing insurance coverage in certain geographic areas.

 

Catastrophic events may disrupt our business.

Our corporate headquarters are located in Westlake Village, California and we have additional locations around the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area and elsewhere in the State of California.  In 2018, many areas of California, including the immediate area around our corporate headquarters, experienced extensive damage and property loss due to a series of very large wildfires.  California and the other jurisdictions in which we operate are also prone to other types of natural disasters.  In the event of a major earthquake, hurricane, or catastrophic event such as fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, cyber-attack, war, or terrorist attack, we may be unable to continue our operations and may endure significant business interruptions, reputational harm, delays in servicing our customers and working with our partners, interruptions in the availability of our technology and systems, breaches of data security, and loss of critical data, all of which could have an adverse effect on our future operating results.

 

Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure

 

BlackRock and Highfields may be able to significantly influence the outcome of votes of our common stock, or exercise certain other rights pursuant to separate stockholder agreements we have entered into with each of them, and their interests may differ from those of our public stockholders.

 

Pursuant to separate stockholder agreements with BlackRock and Highfields, which were amended and restated in connection with the Reorganization in November 2018, each of BlackRock and Highfields has the right to nominate one or two individuals for election to our board of directors, depending on the percentage of the voting power of our outstanding shares common stock that it holds, and we are obligated to use our best efforts to cause the election of those nominees. In addition, these stockholder agreements require that we obtain the consent of BlackRock and Highfields with respect to amendments to our certificate of incorporation or bylaws. As a result, each of BlackRock and Highfields may be able to significantly influence our management and affairs. In addition, as a result of the size of their individual equity holding they may be able to significantly influence the outcome of all matters requiring stockholder approval, including mergers and other material transactions, and may be able to cause or prevent a change in the composition of our board of directors or a change in control of our Company that could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock.

 

We will be required to pay certain of the former owners of PennyMac other than us for certain tax benefits that we may claim, and the amounts we may pay could be significant.

 

We are a party to a tax receivable agreement with certain former owners of PennyMac other than us that provides for the payment from time to time by us to those former owners of 85% of the tax benefits, if any, that we are deemed to realize under certain circumstances as a result of (i) increases in tax basis resulting from exchanges of Class A units of PennyMac for shares of our common stock and (ii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the tax receivable agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the tax receivable agreement. As a result of the Reorganization, each Class A unit of PennyMac held by a Class A unit holder was contributed and exchanged on a one-for-one basis into a share of our common stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we have continuing payment obligations under the tax receivable agreement to any Class A unit holder who exchanged Class A units for shares of our common stock prior to the completion of the Reorganization.

 

It is possible that future transactions or events could increase or decrease the actual tax benefits realized and the corresponding tax receivable agreement payments. There may be a material negative effect on our liquidity if, as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise, the payments under the tax receivable agreement precede or exceed the actual benefits we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the tax receivable agreement or distributions to us by PennyMac are not sufficient to permit us to make payments under the tax receivable agreement after we have paid our taxes. Furthermore, our obligations to make payments under the tax receivable agreement could make us a less attractive target for an acquisition, particularly in the case of an acquirer that cannot use some or all of the tax benefits that are deemed realized under the tax receivable agreement. The payments under the tax receivable agreement are not conditioned upon the continued ownership of us by former owners of PennyMac.

 

In certain cases, payments under the tax receivable agreement to former owners of PennyMac other than us may be accelerated and/or significantly exceed the actual benefits we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the tax receivable agreement.

 

The tax receivable agreement provides that upon certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control, or if, at any time, we elect an early termination of the tax receivable agreement, our (or our successor’s) obligations with respect to previously exchanged Class A units of PennyMac would be based on certain assumptions, including that we would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the deductions arising from the increased tax deductions and tax basis and other benefits related to entering into the tax receivable agreement. As a result, we could be required to make payments under the tax receivable agreement that differ from the percentage specified in the tax receivable agreement of the actual benefits that we realize in respect of the tax attributes that are subject to the tax receivable agreement. Also, if we elect to terminate the tax receivable agreement early, we would be required to make an immediate payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax benefits, which upfront payment may be made years in advance of the actual realization of such future benefits (if any). In these situations, our obligations under the tax receivable agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity, as well as our attractiveness as a target for an acquisition. In addition, we may not be able to finance our obligations under the tax receivable agreement.

 

Payments under the tax receivable agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine. Although we are not aware of any issue that would cause the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, to challenge a tax basis increase, we will not be reimbursed for any payments previously made under the tax receivable agreement. As a result, in certain circumstances, payments could be made under the tax receivable agreement in excess of the tax benefits that we actually realize in respect of (i) increases in tax basis resulting from exchanges of Class A units of PennyMac for shares of our common stock and (ii) certain other tax benefits related to our entering into the tax receivable agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the tax receivable agreement.

 

Our only material assets are our equity interests in PNMAC Holdings, Inc., PennyMac and their subsidiaries, and we are accordingly dependent upon distributions from such entities to pay taxes, make payments under the tax receivable agreement or pay dividends.

 

We are a holding company and have no material assets other than our direct ownership of PNMAC Holdings, Inc. and our direct and indirect ownership of all of the Class A units of PennyMac. We have no independent means of generating revenue. We are required to pay tax on the taxable income of PennyMac and make payments under the tax receivable agreement without regard to whether PennyMac distributes to us any cash or other property. To the extent that we need funds, and PennyMac is restricted from making such distributions under applicable laws or regulations or under the terms of financing arrangements, or is otherwise unable to provide such funds, it could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.

 

We may not pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

 

We are entitled to receive the tax distributions made by PennyMac. The cash received from such distributions will first be used to satisfy any of our tax liabilities and then to make any payments under the tax receivable agreement with certain former owners of PennyMac other than us. The declaration, amount and payment of any dividends on shares of our common stock with respect to any remaining excess cash will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors. For example, in 2018, PNMAC Holdings Inc. (our former top-level parent entity prior to the Reorganization) declared a special dividend of $0.40 per share to holders of record of its Class A Common Stock with a record date of August 13, 2018, that was paid on August 30, 2018. Our board of directors may take into account general and economic conditions, our financial condition and operating results, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions and implications on the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to us, and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant. We may also enter into credit agreements or other borrowing arrangements in the future that restrict or limit our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, we may not pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

 

Anti‑takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law might discourage or delay acquisition attempts for us that you might consider favorable.

 

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors. Among other things, these provisions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

These anti‑takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company, including actions that our stockholders may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

 

Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities identified by or presented to BlackRock and Highfields.

 

BlackRock, Highfields and their respective affiliates are in the business of providing capital to growing companies, and may acquire interests in businesses that directly or indirectly compete with certain portions of our business. Our certificate of incorporation provides that neither BlackRock nor Highfields nor their respective affiliates has any duty to refrain from (i) engaging, directly or indirectly, in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar lines of business in which we now engage or propose to engage, or (ii) doing business with any of our clients, customers or vendors. In the event that either of BlackRock or Highfields or their respective affiliates acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself or its affiliates and for us or our affiliates other than in the capacity as one of our officers or directors, then neither BlackRock nor Highfields has any duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us and may take any such opportunity for themselves or offer it to another person or entity. Neither BlackRock nor Highfields nor any officer, director or employee thereof, shall be liable to us or to any of our stockholders (or any affiliates thereof) for breach of any fiduciary or other duty by engaging in any such activity and we waive and renounce any claim based on such activity. This provision applies even if the business opportunity is one that we might reasonably be deemed to have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity to do so. Our separate stockholder agreements with BlackRock and Highfields provide that any amendment or repeal of the provisions related to corporate opportunities described above requires the consent of each of BlackRock and Highfields as long as it, or any of its affiliates, holds any equity interest in us. These potential conflicts of interest could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations or prospects if attractive corporate opportunities are allocated by BlackRock or Highfields to themselves or their other affiliates instead of to us.

 

Our bylaws include an exclusive forum provision that could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a judicial forum viewed by the stockholders as more favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.

 

Our bylaws provide that the state or federal court located within the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other associates, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the exclusive forum provision contained in our bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

 

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

 

The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in rapid and substantial losses for our stockholders.

 

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly in the past and may be highly volatile in the future and could be subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. Further, if the market price of our common stock declines significantly, you may be unable to resell your shares at or above your purchase price, if at all. The market price of our common stock may

decline significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These broad market and industry factors may decrease the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The stock market in general has from time to time experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, including in recent months. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

 

The market price of our common stock could be negatively affected by sales of substantial amounts of our common stock into the public trading market.

 

PennyMac was founded in 2008 by members of our executive leadership team, BlackRock and Highfields. As a result of the Reorganization, BlackRock, Highfields, and certain other former owners of PennyMac contributed 37,497,607 Class A units of PennyMac to us in exchange for, on a one-for-one basis, shares of our common stock. Some of these former owners of PennyMac should be eligible for long-term capital gains treatment (rather than ordinary income tax treatment) on future sales of such common stock if the holding period is more than one year. Accordingly, we believe that, following the one year anniversary of the Reorganization, such owners may be more likely to sell their shares of common stock into the public trading market. Sales of substantial numbers of shares of our common stock into the public trading market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional common stock or other equity securities.

The future issuance of additional common stock in connection with our incentive plans, acquisitions or otherwise will dilute all other stockholdings.

 

As of December 31, 2018, we have an aggregate of 3,909,942 shares of common stock authorized and remaining available for future issuance under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. We may issue all of these shares of common stock without any action or approval by our stockholders, subject to certain exceptions. We also intend to continue to evaluate acquisition opportunities and may issue common stock in connection with these acquisitions. Any common stock issued in connection with our incentive plans, acquisitions, the exercise of outstanding stock options or otherwise would dilute the percentage ownership held by investors who purchase our common stock.

 

Future offerings of debt or equity securities by us may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

In the future, we may attempt to obtain financing or to further increase our capital resources by issuing additional shares of our common stock or offering debt or other equity securities, including commercial paper, medium‑term notes, senior or subordinated notes, debt securities convertible into equity or shares of preferred stock. In particular, we intend to seek opportunities to acquire MSR portfolios. Future acquisitions could require substantial additional capital in excess of cash from operations. We would expect to obtain the capital required for acquisitions through a combination of additional issuances of equity, corporate indebtedness, asset‑backed acquisition financing and/or cash from operations.

 

Issuing additional shares of our common stock or other equity securities or securities convertible into equity may dilute the economic and voting rights of our existing stockholders or reduce the market price of our common stock or both. Upon liquidation, holders of such debt securities and preferred shares, if issued, and lenders with respect to other borrowings would receive a distribution of our available assets prior to the holders of our common stock. Debt securities convertible into equity could be subject to adjustments in the conversion ratio pursuant to which certain events may increase the number of equity securities issuable upon conversion. Preferred shares, if issued, could have a preference with respect to liquidating distributions or a preference with respect to dividend payments that could limit our ability to pay dividends to the holders of our common stock. Our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, which may adversely affect the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Any such issuance will dilute the ownership of holders of our stock in substantially all of our operating assets. Thus, holders of our common stock bear the risk that our future offerings, including any future offerings by PennyMac, may reduce the market price of our common stock and dilute their stockholdings in us.

 

Exposure to United Kingdom political developments, including the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, could have a material adverse effect on us.

 

On June 23, 2016, a referendum was held on the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union, the outcome of which was a vote in favor of leaving the European Union. On March 29, 2017, the United Kingdom provided its official notice to the European Council that it intends to leave the European Union, triggering the two-year transitionary period, which is expiring on March 29, 2019. The United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union creates an uncertain political and economic environment in the United Kingdom and potentially across other European Union member states, which may last for a number of months or years.

 

The result of the referendum means that the long-term nature of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union is unclear and that there is considerable uncertainty as to when any such relationship will be agreed and implemented. In the interim, there is a risk of instability for both the United Kingdom and the European Union, which could adversely affect our results, financial condition, and prospects.

 

The political and economic instability created by the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union has caused and may continue to cause significant volatility in global financial markets and the value of the British Pound Sterling currency or other currencies, including the Euro. Depending on the terms reached regarding any exit from the European Union, it is possible that there may be adverse practical or operational implications on our business.

 

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

 

None.

 

Item 2.    Properties

 

Our corporate offices are housed in a 60,000 square foot leased facility located at 3043 Townsgate Road, Westlake Village, California 91361 where we conduct executive management for all of our businesses and investment management activities. Our primary loan servicing operation is housed in a 142,000 square foot leased facility located in Moorpark, CA. Much of our California-based loan production operation is housed in a leased 60,000 square foot facility in close proximity to our corporate offices. Our information technology division is housed in a 50,000 square foot facility in Agoura Hills, CA.

 

We lease several additional locations throughout the country generally housing loan production and servicing activities. Our consumer direct lending business occupies a 36,000 square foot facility in Pasadena, CA. Loan servicing and its call center operations occupy a 116,000 square foot facility in Fort Worth, TX, and a 75,000 square foot facility in Plano, TX. In 2018, we leased a new facility in Summerlin, NV as a future site primarily for loan servicing activities. We have five loan production centers located in Roseville, CA, Honolulu, HI, Edina, MN, St. Louis, MO, and Henderson, NV. We also lease a 30,000 square foot facility in Tampa, FL devoted to our correspondent production activities.

 

The financial commitments of our leases are immaterial to the scope of our operations.

 

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

 

The Company is a party to legal proceedings and potential claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. The amount, if any, of ultimate liability with respect to such matters cannot be determined, but despite the inherent uncertainties of litigation, management believes that the ultimate disposition of such proceedings and exposure will not have a material adverse impact on the financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company.

On December 20, 2018, a purported shareholder of the Company filed a complaint in a putative class and derivative action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, captioned Robert Garfield v. BlackRock Mortgage Ventures, LLC et al., Case No. 2018-0917-KSJM (the “Garfield Action”).  The Garfield Action alleges, among other things, that certain current directors and officers of the Company breached their fiduciary duties to the Company and its shareholders by, among other things, agreeing to and entering into the Reorganization without ensuring that the Reorganization was entirely fair to the Company or public shareholders. The Reorganization was approved by 99.8% of voting shareholders on October 24, 2018. On March 1, 2019, the Company and its directors and officers named in the Garfield Action filed a motion to dismiss the complaint.

 

Item 4.    Mine Safety Disclosures

 

Not applicable.

 

 

PART II

 

Item 5.    Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

Our shares of common stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: PFSI). As of February 28, 2019, our shares of common stock were held by 2,936 holders of record.

 

We have not established a minimum dividend payment level and our ability to pay dividends may be adversely affected for the reasons described in Item 1A of this Report in the section entitled Risk Factors. All distributions are made at the discretion of our board of directors and depend on our earnings, our financial condition and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time.

 

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

There were no sales of unregistered equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2018.

 

Repurchase of our Common Stock

 

The following table summarized the stock repurchase activity for the quarter ended December 31, 2018:

 

 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

 

We have adopted an equity incentive plan, the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, which provides for the grant of incentive stock option and nonstatutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and stock unit awards, performance units, stock grants and qualified performance‑based awards, which we collectively refer to as “awards.” Directors, officers and other employees of our Company and our subsidiaries, as well as others performing consulting or advisory services for us, are eligible for grants under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. The plan administrator of the equity incentive plan is the compensation committee of the board of directors. The board of directors itself may also exercise any of the powers and responsibilities under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. Subject to the terms of the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, the plan administrator will select the recipients of awards and determine, among other things, the:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2018 concerning our shares of common stock authorized for issuance under our equity incentive plan.   

                                                                                      

 

 

 

Item 6.  Selected Financial Data

 

The following financial data should be read in conjunction with Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” The table below presents, as of and for the dates indicated, selected historical financial information for us. The condensed consolidated statements of income data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 and the condensed consolidated balance sheets data at December 31, 2018, and 2017 have been derived from our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Report. The condensed consolidated statements of income data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and the condensed consolidated balance sheets data at December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 have been derived from our Company’s audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this Report.