The following table presents, as of December 31, 2012, the Company’s exposure to European debt by country segregated between sovereign and non-sovereign (financial and non-financial corporate debt) exposure:
Most of the proceeds received from equity indexed annuities are invested in fixed income securities with the return on those investments intended to fund the 3% guarantee. The Company earns income from the difference between the return earned on invested assets and the 3% guarantee rate credited to customer accounts. The spread between return earned and amount credited is affected by changes in interest rates. This risk is not currently hedged and was immaterial at December 31, 2012.
Consolidated Statements of Shareholder’s Equity - Years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010
Available-for-Sale securities are carried at fair value with unrealized gains (losses) recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of impacts to DAC, DSIC, certain benefit reserves and income taxes. Gains and losses are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income upon disposition of the securities.
Commercial mortgage loans are evaluated for impairment when the loan is considered for nonaccrual status, restructured or foreclosure proceedings are initiated on the property. If it is determined that the fair value is less than the current loan balance, it is written down to fair value less estimated selling costs. Residential mortgage loans are charged off when management determines the assets are uncollectible and commences foreclosure proceedings on the property, at which time the property is written down to fair value less selling costs. Foreclosed property is recorded as real estate owned in other investments. Syndicated loans are placed on nonaccrual status when management determines it will not collect all contractual principal and interest on the loan.
The majority of the variable annuity contracts offered by the Company contain guaranteed minimum death benefit (“GMDB”) provisions. When market values of the customer’s accounts decline, the death benefit payable on a contract with a GMDB may exceed the contract accumulation value. The Company also offers variable annuities with death benefit provisions that gross up the amount payable by a certain percentage of contract earnings, which are referred to as gain gross-up (“GGU”) benefits. In addition, the Company offers contracts containing GMWB and GMAB provisions, and until May 2007, the Company offered contracts containing guaranteed minimum income benefit (“GMIB”) provisions.
liability. Significant assumptions made in projecting future benefits and fees relate to persistency and benefit utilization. As with DAC, management reviews, and where appropriate, adjusts its assumptions each quarter. Unless management identifies a material deviation over the course of quarterly monitoring, management reviews and updates these assumptions annually in the third quarter of each year. The changes in both the fair values of the GMWB and GMAB embedded derivatives and the liability for life contingent benefits are reflected in benefits, claims, losses and settlement expenses.
In October 2012, the Company purchased $954 million of residential mortgage loans at fair value from an affiliate, Ameriprise Bank, FSB. The purchase price takes into account the credit quality of the loan portfolio resulting in no allowance for loan losses recorded at purchase. The Company considers the credit worthiness of borrowers (FICO score), collateral characteristics such as LTV and geographic concentration to determine when an amount for an allowance for loan losses for residential mortgage loans is appropriate. At a minimum, management will update FICO scores and LTV ratios semiannually.
In the third quarter of the year, management conducts its annual review of insurance and annuity valuation assumptions relative to current experience and management expectations. To the extent that expectations change as a result of this review, management updates valuation assumptions. The impact in the third quarter of 2012 and 2011 primarily reflected the low interest rate environment and for 2012, the assumption of continued low interest rates over the near-term. As part of the third quarter 2010 process, management extended the projection periods used for its annuity products and revised client asset value growth rates assumed for variable annuity and VUL contracts.
During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, transfers from Level 3 to Level 2 included certain non-agency residential mortgage backed securities with a fair value of approximately $58 million and $2.2 billion, respectively. The transfers reflect improved pricing transparency of these securities, a continuing trend of increased activity in the non-agency residential mortgage backed securities market and observability of significant inputs to the valuation methodology. All other securities transferred from Level 3 to Level 2 represent securities with fair values that are now obtained from a third party pricing service with observable inputs. Securities transferred from Level 2 to Level 3 represent securities with fair values that are now based on a single non-binding broker quote. The Company recognizes transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy as of the beginning of the quarter in which each transfer occurred. For assets and liabilities held at the end of the reporting periods that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis, there were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2.
The fair value of assets held by separate accounts is determined by the net asset value (“NAV”) of the funds in which those separate accounts are invested. The NAV represents the exit price for the separate account. Separate account assets are classified as Level 2 as they are traded in principal-to-principal markets with little publicly released pricing information.
Certain separate account liabilities are classified as investment contracts and are carried at an amount equal to the related separate account assets. The NAV of the related separate account assets represents the exit price for the separate account liabilities. Separate account liabilities are classified as Level 2 as they are traded in principal-to-principal markets with little publicly released pricing information. A nonperformance adjustment is not included as the related separate account assets act as collateral for these liabilities and minimize nonperformance risk.
Certain of the Company’s derivative contracts contain provisions that adjust the level of collateral the Company is required to post based on the Company’s financial strength rating (or based on the debt rating of the Company’s parent, Ameriprise Financial). Additionally, certain of the Company’s derivative contracts contain provisions that allow the counterparty to terminate the contract if the Company does not maintain a specific financial strength rating or Ameriprise Financial’s debt does not maintain a specific credit rating (generally an investment grade rating). If these termination provisions were to be triggered, the Company’s counterparty could require immediate settlement of any net liability position. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the aggregate fair value of derivative contracts in a net liability position containing such credit contingent provisions was $364 million and $106 million, respectively. The aggregate fair value of assets posted as collateral for such
The significant decrease in the amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits is a result of reaching an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) on the treatment of certain items under audit. If recognized, approximately $8 million, $12 million and $39 million, net of federal tax benefits, of unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, would affect the effective tax rate.