FASB Updates List of US Benchmark Interest Rates for Hedge Accounting
FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update that expands the list of U.S. benchmark interest rates permitted in the application of hedge accounting. The amendments in the Accounting Standards Update will be effective concurrently with Update 2017-12. For public companies that have adopted Update 2017-12, the new amendments will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, along with the interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other companies and organizations that already have adopted Update 2017-12, the new amendments will become effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, along with the interim periods within those fiscal years.
FASB Accounting Standards Codification® Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, provides guidance on the risks associated with financial assets or liabilities that are permitted to be hedged. Among those risks is the risk of changes in fair values or cash flows of existing or forecast issuances, or purchases of fixed-rate financial assets or liabilities attributable to the designated benchmark interest rate (referred to as interest rate risk). In the United States, eligible benchmark interest rates under Topic 815 are interest rates on direct Treasury obligations of the U.S. government (UST), the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) swap rate, and the Overnight Index Swap (OIS) Rate based on the Fed Funds Effective Rate.
When FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (Update) No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, in August 2017, it introduced the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Municipal Swap Rate as the fourth permissible U.S. benchmark rate. Based on concerns about the sustainability of LIBOR, in 2017, a committee convened by the FED and the New York FED identified a broad Treasury repurchase agreement (repo) financing rate referred to as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as its preferred alternative reference rate. The new Accounting Standards Update adds the OIS rate based on SOFR as a U.S. benchmark interest rate to facilitate the LIBOR to SOFR transition and provide sufficient lead time for entities to prepare for changes to interest rate risk hedging strategies for both risk management and hedge accounting purposes.
Related Links
Keywords: Americas, US, Accounting, Banking, Securities, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, Benchmark Interest Rates, FASB
Previous Article
FED Issues OMB Supporting Statement on SCCL for Large BanksRelated Articles
PRA Publishes Q&A on Property Valuation Requirements Under CRR
PRA published a set of questions and answers (Q&A) covering common queries regarding residential and commercial property valuations, for the purpose of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), during the period of disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
IOSCO Consults on Outsourcing Principles for Operational Resilience
IOSCO proposed updates to its principles for regulated entities that outsource tasks to service providers.
MAS Consortium to Develop AI Fairness Metrics for Credit Scoring
MAS announced that the first phase of the Veritas initiative will commence with the development of fairness metrics in credit risk scoring and customer marketing.
BoE Updates Definitions for BTL Data Collection
BoE published the Statistical Notice 2020/4 to update the buy-to-let (BTL) Phase 2 and Phase 3 definitions for the Interest Rate Type data item.
FSI Examines Financial Stability Implications of Payment Deferrals
FSI published a brief note that examines challenges facing the banking sector as a result of the payment deferral programs put in place to support borrowers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PRA Finalizes Policy on Prudent Person Principle Under Solvency II
PRA published the policy statement PS14/20, which contains the supervisory statement SS1/20 and the feedback to responses to the consultation paper CP22/19 on expectations for investment by firms in accordance with the Prudent Person Principle, or PPP, as set out in the Investments Part of the PRA Rulebook.
EBA on Extending Large Exposure Limits for French Systemic Banks
EBA published an opinion following the notification by the French macro-prudential authority, the Haut Conseil de Stabilité Financière (HCSF), of its intention to extend a measure introduced in 2018 on the use of Article 458(9) of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR).
ECB Highlights NPL Resolution as Key Policy Issue in Post-COVID Europe
As part of a Research Bulletin on the recent policy-relevant work, ECB published an article that examines the lessons learned from past crises for nonperforming loan resolution in the post COVID-19 period.
RBNZ Publishes Financial Stability Report for May 2020
RBNZ published the financial stability report for May 2020. This review of the financial system in the country highlights that the economic disruption associated with COVID-19 will present challenges to the financial system.
ECB Updates Guidance on Reporting of Securities Holdings Statistics
ECB updated the guidance notes for reporting related to the statistics on holdings of securities by reporting banking groups (SHSG).
