FASB Approves Guidance to Assist in Transition to New Reference Rates
FASB approved an Accounting Standards Update (Topic 848) to provide temporary, optional guidance to ease the potential burden in accounting for, or recognizing the effects of, the reference rate reform on financial reporting. FASB is expected to issue the final Accounting Standards Update in early 2020. The guidance will apply only to contracts or hedge accounting relationships that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform. This accounting relief could be applied until January 01, 2023, a year after the expected discontinuation of LIBOR.
The final Accounting Standards Update will provide optional expedients and exceptions for applying the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, to contract modifications and hedge accounting relationships affected by the reference rate reform, thus facilitating a smoother transition to new reference rates. The final Update will assist stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period. Therefore, the guidance would be in effect for a limited time. The guidance would be effective once the final Accounting Standards Update is issued and would not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into, or evaluated, after December 31, 2022.
With global capital markets expected to move away from LIBOR and other interbank offered rates toward rates that are more observable or transaction-based and less susceptible to manipulation, FASB launched a project in mid-2018 to address potential accounting challenges expected to arise from the transition. For a contract that meets certain criteria, a change in that contract’s reference interest rate would be accounted for as a continuation of that contract rather than the creation of a new contract. This provision applies to loans, debt, leases, and other arrangements. A company or other organization would be permitted to preserve its hedge accounting when updating its hedging strategies in response to the reference rate reform.
Related Links
Keywords: Americas, US, Banking, Insurance, Securities, Accounting, Interest Rate Benchmark, Reference Rate Reform, GAAP, Topic 848, LIBOR, IBORs, FASB
Previous Article
BaFin Updates Notes on Reporting Under Solvency IIRelated Articles
US Agencies Issue Several Regulatory and Reporting Updates
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FED) adopted the final rule on Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act.
ECB Issues Multiple Reports and Regulatory Updates for Banks
The European Central Bank (ECB) published an updated list of supervised entities, a report on the supervision of less significant institutions (LSIs), a statement on macro-prudential policy.
HKMA Keeps List of D-SIBs Unchanged, Makes Other Announcements
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a circular on the prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures, an update on the status of transition to new interest rate benchmarks.
EU Issues FAQs on Taxonomy Regulation, Rules Under CRD, FICOD and SFDR
The European Commission (EC) adopted the standards addressing supervisory reporting of risk concentrations and intra-group transactions, benchmarking of internal approaches, and authorization of credit institutions.
CBIRC Revises Measures on Corporate Governance Supervision
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) issued rules to manage the risk of off-balance sheet business of commercial banks and rules on corporate governance of financial institutions.
HKMA Publications Address Sustainability Issues in Financial Sector
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) made announcements to address sustainability issues in the financial sector.
EBA Updates Address Basel and NPL Requirements for Banks
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published regulatory standards on identification of a group of connected clients (GCC) as well as updated the lists of identified financial conglomerates.
ESMA Publishes 2022 ESEF XBRL Taxonomy and Conformance Suite
The General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), at its December meeting, issued an updated risk assessment via the quarterly risk dashboard and held discussions on key policy priorities to address the systemic risks in the European Union.
FCA Sets up ESG Committee, Imposes Penalties, and Issues Other Updates
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking comments, until December 21, 2022, on the draft guidance for firms to support existing mortgage borrowers.
FSB Reports Assess NBFI Sector and Progress on LIBOR Transition
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report that assesses progress on the transition from the Interbank Offered Rates, or IBORs, to overnight risk-free rates as well as a report that assesses global trends in the non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector.
