PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Commitments Disclosure
Note 17—Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments
The following table summarizes the Company’s outstanding contractual commitments:
|
|
December 31, 2025 |
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|
|
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(in thousands) |
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|
Commitments to purchase loans held for sale from PLS |
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$ |
1,207,859 |
|
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, the Company may be involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and claims arising in the ordinary course of 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 any such proceedings and exposure will not have, individually or taken together, a material adverse effect on the financial condition, income, or cash flows of the Company.
Litigation
On June 14, 2024, a purported shareholder of the Company’s Series A Preferred Shares and Series B Preferred Shares (each, as defined hereafter) filed a complaint in a putative class action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (the "District Court”), captioned Roberto Verthelyi v. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust and PNMAC Capital Management, LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-05028 (the “Verthelyi Action”). The Verthelyi Action alleges, among other things, that the Company (and its external investment advisor, PCM), committed unlawful and unfair acts in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law by replacing its floating three-month London Inter-bank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") dividend rate for the Series A and Series B Preferred Shares with a fixed rate, in violation of the LIBOR Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq., and the LIBOR Rule, 12 C.F.R. § 253 et seq.
The Verthelyi Action seeks injunctive relief requiring the Company to implement SOFR as a replacement to the three-month LIBOR rate and damages for the putative class in the form of restitution, interest, disgorgement and other relief. The Company believes it has interpreted the Articles Supplementary to its Series A and Series B Preferred Shares consistent with their terms and, more specifically, the interest rate fallback provisions contained therein, as applied under the LIBOR Act and the LIBOR rules, and that the Verthelyi Action is without merit.
On August 20, 2024, the Company filed a Motion to Dismiss that was denied by the District Court in an order dated February 26, 2025. The Company responded by filing a motion to certify the order denying the motion for interlocutory appeal, and on May 5, 2025, the District Court issued an Order Granting Certification for Interlocutory Appeal and Staying Action. The Company subsequently petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the “Ninth Circuit”) for permission to appeal, and that petition was granted by the Ninth Circuit in an order dated July 17, 2025. The appeal is fully briefed and remains pending.
At this time, the Company does not believe that a loss related to this matter is probable or reasonably estimable. The specific factors that limit the Company’s ability to reasonably estimate a loss or range of losses are the novelty of the legal theories under California’s Unfair Competition Law, the various claims for relief, including injunctive relief, and the early stage of the proceedings and uncertainty of the outcome. Accordingly, no accrual has been recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for this matter. While no assurance can be provided as to the ultimate outcome of this claim, the Company and PCM plan to vigorously defend the matter.
Pursuant to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Management Agreement, dated as of June 30, 2020, by and between the Company and PCM, the Company has assumed the defense of PCM in the Verthelyi Action.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 18, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2020 | Feb 26, 2021 | |
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.