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FNF > SEC Filings for FNF > Form 10-Q on 6-Nov-2009All Recent SEC Filings

Show all filings for FIDELITY NATIONAL FINANCIAL, INC. | Request a Trial to NEW EDGAR Online Pro

Form 10-Q for FIDELITY NATIONAL FINANCIAL, INC.


6-Nov-2009

Quarterly Report


Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations
The statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding our expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. It is important to note that our actual results could vary materially from those forward-looking statements contained herein due to many factors, including, but not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; weakness or adverse changes in the level of real estate activity, which may be caused by, among other things, high or increasing interest rates, a limited supply of mortgage funding or a weak U.S. economy; our potential inability to find suitable acquisition candidates, acquisitions in lines of business that will not necessarily be limited to our traditional areas of focus, or difficulties in integrating acquisitions; our dependence on operating subsidiaries as a source of cash flow; significant competition that our operating subsidiaries face; compliance with extensive government regulation of our operating subsidiaries; and other risks detailed in the "Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information," "Risk Factors" and other sections of the Company's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. Recent Developments
On September 25, 2009, we closed on the sale of Fidelity National Capital, Inc. ("FN Capital"), a financing and leasing subsidiary, to Winthrop Resources Corporation. Accordingly, the sale and results of FN Capital prior to the sale are reflected in the financial statements as discontinued operations for all periods presented. We received net proceeds of $49.2 million from the sale of FN Capital and recorded a pre-tax loss on the sale of $3.4 million ($2.2 million after tax).
On April 14, 2009, we offered 15,800,000 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $19.00 per share, pursuant to an effective registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The underwriters were granted and chose to exercise an option to purchase additional shares equal to 15% of the offering, or 2,370,000 shares, at the offering price. A total of 18,170,000 shares were issued on April 20, 2009, for net proceeds of $331.4 million.
On December 22, 2008, we completed the acquisition of LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc.'s ("LFG") two principal title insurance underwriters, Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company ("Commonwealth") and Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation ("Lawyers"), as well as United Capital Title Insurance Company ("United") (collectively, the "LFG Underwriters"). The total purchase price for the LFG Underwriters was $260.3 million, net of cash acquired of $5.9 million, and was comprised of $155.3 million paid in cash by two of our title insurance underwriters, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company and Chicago Title Insurance Company, a $50.0 million subordinated note due 2013, and $50.0 million in FNF common stock (3,176,620 shares valued at $15.74 per share at the time of closing). The operations of these companies are included in the Fidelity National Title Group segment from their acquisition date of December 22, 2008.
During 2008, prior to the acquisition, the LFG Underwriters generated significant revenue but had substantial losses from operations. Since the acquisition, FNF has been engaged in an effort to reduce overhead at the LFG Underwriters and restore them to profitability by eliminating redundant offices and personnel and less profitable agency relationships. During 2009, we eliminated a total of approximately 2,300 of the LFG Underwriters' personnel and 240 of their offices. These measures, along with other cost reductions related to this acquisition, are expected to generate estimated annual cost reductions of approximately $263 million. As a result of these measures, and due in part to the loss of business momentum at the LFG Underwriters prior to the acquisition resulting from the Chapter 11 case of LFG and other causes, the operations of the LFG Underwriters will, at least initially, be somewhat less sizable than they were historically. Therefore, the reported results of the LFG Underwriters for prior periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. For the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009, the direct operations of the LFG Underwriters contributed an average of approximately 15% of the total direct orders opened by the Company in each period.
Overview
We are a holding company that is a provider, through our subsidiaries, of title insurance, specialty insurance, claims management services, and information services. We are the nation's largest title insurance company through our title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Lawyers Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title, and Alamo Title - which collectively issued more title insurance policies in 2008 than any other title company in the United States. We also provide flood insurance, personal lines insurance, and home warranty insurance through our specialty insurance subsidiaries. We are also a leading provider of outsourced claims management services to large corporate and public sector entities through our minority-owned affiliate, Sedgwick CMS Holdings ("Sedgwick") and a provider of information services in the human resources, retail and


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transportation markets through another minority-owned affiliate, Ceridian Corporation ("Ceridian").
We currently have three reporting segments as follows:
• Fidelity National Title Group. This segment consists of the operations of our title insurance underwriters and related businesses. This segment provides core title insurance and escrow and other title related services including collection and trust activities, trustee's sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances.

• Specialty Insurance. The specialty insurance segment consists of certain subsidiaries that issue flood, home warranty, homeowners, automobile and other personal lines insurance policies.

• Corporate and Other. The corporate and other segment consists of the operations of the parent holding company, certain other unallocated corporate overhead expenses, other smaller operations, and our share in the operations of certain equity investments, including Sedgwick, Ceridian, and Remy International ("Remy").

Transactions with Related Parties
Our financial statements reflect transactions with Fidelity National Information Services ("FIS"), which is a related party, and with Lender Processing Services, Inc. ("LPS"), which was a related party prior to March 15, 2009. Please see note A of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Business Trends and Conditions
Title insurance revenue is closely related to the level of real estate activity which includes sales, mortgage financing and mortgage refinancing. The level of real estate activity is primarily affected by the average price of real estate sales, the availability of funds for mortgage loans, mortgage interest rates and the overall state of the U.S. economy. Due to several of these factors, the volume of refinancing transactions in particular and mortgage originations in general in the United States declined in the 2006 through 2008 period from 2005 levels, resulting in a reduction of title insurance order counts and revenues for us through 2008.
In response to concerns about the economy, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates throughout 2008, most recently in December. The target federal funds rate is now 0.0%-0.25% compared to 4.25% in December 2007. This reduction in interest rates, along with other government programs designed to increase liquidity in the mortgage markets, resulted in a significant increase in our refinance order volumes that commenced in December 2008 and has continued to positively affect our revenues through much of 2009. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's ("MBA") current mortgage finance forecast, U.S. mortgage originations (including refinancings) were approximately $1.5 trillion, $2.3 trillion and $2.7 trillion in 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. The MBA's Mortgage Finance Forecast currently estimates an approximately $2.0 trillion mortgage origination market for 2009, which would be an increase of 30% from 2008. The MBA further forecasts that the 30% increase will result entirely from refinance transactions.
Several pieces of legislation have been enacted to address the struggling mortgage market and the current economic and financial environment, including the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which provides broad discretion to the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury to implement a program for the purchase of up to $700 billion in troubled assets from banks and financial institutions called the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP"). On February 17, 2009, Congress also passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA"), a $787 billion stimulus package, that provides an array of types of relief for homebuyers, such as an $8,000 tax credit that would be available to first-time homebuyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Management believes that these measures have had a positive effect on our results of operations to date in 2009. On November 5, 2009 Congress approved and the President is expected to sign into law an extension of the first-time homebuyer credit to persons who sign a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close the purchase by June 30, 2010. This extension would also expand the program to provide a $6,500 credit for buyers who have owned their current home at least five years.
In addition, other steps taken by the U.S. government to relieve the current economic situation may have a positive effect on our sales of title insurance. Under the Obama administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, a $75 billion program, homeowners with a solid payment history on an existing mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, who would otherwise be unable to get a refinancing loan because of a loss in home value increasing their loan-to-value ratio above 80%, would be able to get a refinancing loan. The program provides the opportunity for up to 4 to 5 million homeowners who fit this description to refinance their loans.
On February 10, 2009, the Treasury Department introduced its Financial Stability Plan ("FSA") that, together with the ARRA, is designed to restart the flow of credit, clean up and strengthen banks, and provide support to homeowners and small businesses. On March 23, 2009, as part of the FSA, the Treasury Department, together with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation


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("FDIC") and the Federal Reserve, unveiled the Public-Private Investment Program ("PPIP") to remove many troubled assets from banks' books, representing one of the biggest efforts by the U.S. government so far to address the ongoing financial crisis. Using $75 to $100 billion in TARP capital, capital from private investors and the funds from loans from the Federal Reserve's Term Asset Lending Facility ("TALF"), the PPIP is intended to generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy toxic assets backed by mortgages and other loans, with the potential to expand to $1 trillion over time. The government expects this program, consisting of the Legacy Loan Program and the Legacy Securities Program, to help cleanse the balance sheets of many of the nation's largest banks and to help get credit flowing again. The Legacy Securities Program, designed to attract private capital to purchase eligible mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities through the provision of debt financing by the Federal Reserve under the TALF, was implemented in the summer of 2009. The Legacy Loans Program, designed to attract private capital to purchase eligible loans from participating banks through the provision of debt guarantees by the FDIC and equity co-investment by the Treasury Department, is being tested by the FDIC.
On March 15, 2009, the Federal Reserve announced plans to provide greater support to mortgage lending and housing markets by buying up to $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities issued by agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, bringing its total proposed purchases of these securities to $1.25 trillion in 2009, and to increase its purchases of other agency debt in 2009 by up to $100 billion to a total of up to $200 billion. Moreover, to help improve conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve decided to purchase up to $300 billion of longer-term Treasury securities.
We cannot predict the final form that any such legislation or initiative may take, when it may become effective or otherwise occur or the impact it may have on our business.
In October 2008, we announced our plans to begin the process of reviewing and increasing our title insurance rates across the country. Since that time, we have completed all of our filings related to our planned price increases and instituted revised rates that are now effective in 25 states. The pricing increases have been generally in the range of 5-10%, including a 10% increase in California. Additional rate revisions are pending in a number of other states. Results of Operations
Consolidated Results of Operations
Net Earnings (Losses). The following table presents certain financial data for the periods indicated:

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