We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Voya Insurance and Annuity Company as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, and the related statements of operations, comprehensive income, changes in shareholder's equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2016. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
been credit impaired, the effective yield is recalculated on a prospective basis. For all other MBS and ABS, the effective yield is recalculated on a retrospective basis.
Contract owners may periodically exchange one contract for another, or make modifications to an existing contract. These transactions are identified as internal replacements. Internal replacements that are determined to result in substantially unchanged contracts are accounted for as continuations of the replaced contracts. Any costs associated with the issuance of the new contracts are considered maintenance costs and expensed as incurred. Unamortized DAC, VOBA and DSI related to the replaced contracts continue to be deferred and amortized in connection with the new contracts. Internal replacements that are determined to result in contracts that are substantially changed are accounted for as extinguishments of the replaced contracts, and any unamortized DAC, VOBA and DSI related to the replaced contracts are written off to the same account in which amortization is reported in the Statements of Operations.
Changes in assumptions can have a significant impact on DAC, VOBA and DSI balances, amortization rates, reserve levels, and results of operations. Assumptions are management's best estimate of future outcome.
Account balances for funding agreements are calculated using the amount deposited with the Company, less withdrawals, plus interest accrued to the ending valuation date. Interest on these contracts is accrued by a predetermined index, plus a spread or a fixed rate, established at the issue date of the contract.
The provisions of ASU 2016-05 are effective for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2016 with early adoption permitted, using either a prospective or modified retrospective approach. The Company elected to early adopt ASU 2016-05 as of January 1, 2016 on a prospective basis. The adoption had no effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
The provisions of ASU 2014-09 are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted as of January 1, 2017. Initial adoption of ASU 2014-09 is required to be reported using either a retrospective or modified retrospective approach.
The Company's fixed maturities and equity securities are currently designated as available-for-sale, except those accounted for using the FVO. Available-for-sale securities are reported at fair value and unrealized capital gains (losses) on these securities are recorded directly in AOCI and presented net of related changes in DAC, VOBA and Deferred income taxes. In addition, certain fixed maturities have embedded derivatives, which are reported with the host contract on the Balance Sheets.
The above tables include $5.3, $7.3 and $3.7 of write-downs related to credit impairments for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, in Other-than-temporary impairments, which are recognized in the Statements of Operations. The remaining $4.7, $25.5 and $2.0, for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, are related to intent impairments.
Futures: Futures contracts are used to hedge against a decrease in certain equity indices. Such decreases may result in a decrease in variable annuity account values which would increase the possibility of the Company incurring an expense for guaranteed benefits in excess of account values. The Company also uses interest rate futures contracts to hedge its exposure to market risks due to changes in interest rates. The Company enters into exchange traded futures with regulated futures commissions that are members of the exchange. The Company also posts initial and variation margins with the exchange on a daily basis. The Company utilizes exchange-traded futures in non-qualifying hedging relationships. The Company also used futures contracts as a hedge against an increase in certain equity indices. Such increases may result in increased payments to the holders of fixed index annuity ("FIA") contracts. During the first quarter of 2016, the Company moved to a static hedging strategy for its FIA contracts and replaced futures contracts with equity options.
Certain assets and liabilities are measured at estimated fair value on the Company's Balance Sheets. The Company defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The exit price and the transaction (or entry) price will be the same at initial recognition in many circumstances. However, in certain cases, the transaction price may not represent fair value. The fair value of a liability is based on the amount that would be paid to
Broker quotes and prices obtained from pricing services are reviewed and validated through an internal valuation committee price variance review, comparisons to internal pricing models, back testing to recent trades, or monitoring of trading volumes. As of December 31, 2016, $537.9 and $17.6 billion of a total fair value of $23.3 billion in fixed maturities, including securities pledged, were valued using unadjusted broker quotes and unadjusted prices obtained from pricing services, respectively and verified through the review process. The remaining balance in fixed maturities consisted primarily of privately placed bonds valued using a matrix-based pricing. As of December 31, 2015, $504.8 and $18.6 billion of a total fair value of $23.7 billion in fixed maturities, including securities pledged, were valued using unadjusted broker quotes and unadjusted prices obtained from pricing services, respectively and verified through the review process. The remaining balance in fixed maturities consisted primarily of privately placed bonds valued using a matrix-based pricing.
The Company does not expect any material changes in the amount of the unrecognized tax benefit of $1.9 within the next twelve months. The timing of a payment (if any) associated with the unrecognized tax benefit cannot be reliably estimated.
The impacts of these agreements on the Balance Sheets as of the dates indicated are as follows:
The Company maintains a reciprocal loan agreement with Voya Financial, Inc., an affiliate, to facilitate the handling of unanticipated short-term cash requirements that arise in the ordinary course of business. Under this agreement, which became effective in January 2004, and based upon its renewal on January 14, 2014, expires on January 14, 2024, either party can borrow from the other up to 3.0% of the Company's statutory net admitted assets, excluding Separate Accounts, as of the preceding December 31. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, interest on any borrowing by either the Company or Voya Financial, Inc. was charged at a rate based on the prevailing market rate for similar third-party borrowings or securities.