Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Mortgage Servicing Rights

v2.4.0.6
Mortgage Servicing Rights
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Transfers and Servicing [Abstract]  
Mortgage Servicing Rights
NOTE 18 – Mortgage Servicing Rights

The Corporation accounts for consumer MSRs at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Income in mortgage banking income. The Corporation economically hedges these MSRs with certain derivatives and securities including MBS and U.S. Treasuries. The securities that economically hedge the MSRs are classified in other assets with changes in the fair value of the securities and the related interest income recorded in mortgage banking income.

The table below presents activity for residential first-lien MSRs for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. Commercial and residential reverse MSRs, which are carried at the lower of cost or market value and accounted for using the amortization method, totaled $134 million and $132 million at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, and are not included in the tables in this Note.

 
Three Months Ended March 31
(Dollars in millions)
2012
 
2011
Balance, January 1
$
7,378

 
$
14,900

Additions
77

 
841

Impact of customer payments (1)
(521
)
 
(706
)
Impact of changes in interest rates and other market factors (2)
975

 
709

Model and other cash flow assumption changes: (3)
 
 
 
Projected cash flows, primarily due to increases in costs to service loans
(273
)
 
(528
)
Impact of changes in the Home Price Index
15

 
222

Impact of changes to the prepayment model

 
(177
)
Other model changes
(62
)
 
21

Balance, March 31
$
7,589

 
$
15,282

Mortgage loans serviced for investors (in billions)
$
1,313

 
$
1,610

(1) 
Represents the change in the market value of the MSR asset due to the impact of customer payments received during the period.
(2) 
These amounts reflect the changes in modeled MSR fair value primarily due to observed changes in interest rates, volatility, spreads and the shape of the forward swap curve.
(3) 
These amounts reflect periodic adjustments to the valuation model as well as changes in certain cash flow assumptions such as costs to service and ancillary income per loan.

The Corporation uses an option-adjusted spread (OAS) valuation approach which factors in prepayment risk to determine the fair value of MSRs. This approach consists of projecting servicing cash flows under multiple interest rate scenarios and discounting these cash flows using risk-adjusted discount rates. The significant economic assumptions used in determining the fair value of MSRs at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 are presented below.

Significant Economic Assumptions
 
March 31, 2012
 
December 31, 2011
(Dollars in millions)
Fixed
 
Adjustable
 
Fixed
 
Adjustable
Weighted-average OAS
2.82
%
 
5.75
%
 
2.80
%
 
5.61
%
Weighted-average life, in years
4.20

 
2.23

 
3.78

 
2.10



The table below presents the sensitivity of the weighted-average lives and fair value of MSRs to changes in modeled assumptions. These sensitivities are hypothetical and should be used with caution. As the amounts indicate, changes in fair value based on variations in assumptions generally cannot be extrapolated because the relationship of the change in assumption to the change in fair value may not be linear. Also, the effect of a variation in a particular assumption on the fair value of MSRs that continue to be held by the Corporation is calculated without changing any other assumption. In reality, changes in one factor may result in changes in another, which might magnify or counteract the sensitivities. The below sensitivities do not reflect any hedge strategies that may be undertaken to mitigate such risk.

Sensitivity Impacts
 
March 31, 2012
 
Change in Weighted-average Lives
 
 
(Dollars in millions)
Fixed
 
Adjustable
 
Change in
Fair Value
Prepayment rates
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Impact of 10% decrease
0.30

 
years
 
0.21

 
years
 
$
650

Impact of 20% decrease
0.65

 
 
 
0.45

 
 
 
1,387

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Impact of 10% increase
(0.27
)
 
 
 
(0.18
)
 
 
 
(577
)
Impact of 20% increase
(0.51
)
 
 
 
(0.34
)
 
 
 
(1,093
)
OAS level
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Impact of 100 bps decrease
n/a

 
 
 
n/a

 
 
 
$
435

Impact of 200 bps decrease
n/a

 
 
 
n/a

 
 
 
909

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Impact of 100 bps increase
n/a

 
 
 
n/a

 
 
 
(399
)
Impact of 200 bps increase
n/a

 
 
 
n/a

 
 
 
(766
)
n/a = not applicable