5.12 Financial instruments

Recognition and classification

Financial assets and liabilities are recognized in the statement of the financial standing when a PZU Group entity becomes a party to a binding contract under which it incurs risk and receives benefits related to the financial instrument. For transactions concluded on an organized market, the purchase or sale of financial assets and liabilities is recognized as at the trade date.

Financial instruments are classified at the moment of acquisition according to one of four categories: held to maturity, available for sale, measured at fair value through financial result, or loans. At acquisition, financial instruments are recognized at fair value adjusted by transaction costs directly attributable to the purchase or sale of a given financial instrument. Instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss for which transaction costs reduce the item “Net investment income” as a one-off event are an exception. The fair value of a financial instrument upon initial recognition is usually its transaction price, unless the nature of the financial instrument provides otherwise.

Financial assets and liabilities are classified and measured according to the principles described in points 5.12.1 - 5.12.5.

In the case of financial instruments generating interest income, the interest is calculated starting from the first day after the date of transaction settlement.

Derecognition from the consolidated statement of financial standing

Financial assets are derecognized from the consolidated statement of financial position if they expire or if the contractual entitlement to cash flows from the given asset is transferred to another entity. The transfer takes place also when contractual entitlement to cash flows from an asset is blocked, but the contractual obligation to transfer these cash flows to a third party is accepted.

When financial assets are transferred, it is estimated to what extent the risk and benefits related to the ownership of an asset remain:

  • if the whole risk and benefits related to the ownership of a financial asset are transferred, the financial asset is derecognized from the consolidated statement of financial standing;
  • if practically the whole risk and benefits related to the ownership of a financial asset is kept, the financial asset continues to be recognized in the consolidated statement of financial standing;
  • if practically the whole risk and benefits related to the ownership of a financial asset are neither transferred nor kept, the financial asset continues to be recognized in the consolidated statement of financial standing.

If the control is kept, the financial asset is recognized in the consolidated statement of financial standing to the amount resulting from the continuous involvement, accordingly, if there is no control, the asset is derecognized from the consolidated statement of financial standing.

A financial liability (or its part) is derecognized from the consolidated statement of financial standing, if the obligation laid down in the contract was fulfilled, remitted or expired.

5.12.1. Financial assets held to maturity

Financial assets held to maturity are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments and fixed maturity that PZU Group has the positive intention and ability to hold to maturity.

Financial instruments held to maturity are measured at amortized cost and gains or losses on the measurement are recognized under “Net investment income”.

5.12.2. Financial assets available for sale

Financial assets available for sale include financial instruments which have not been classified to any other category.

Instruments classified to this category are measured at fair value in accordance with the rules described in point 10.1. The difference between fair value as at the balance sheet date and cost is charged directly to the revaluation reserve. In the case of debt instruments, interest accrued using the effective interest rate is recognized under “Net investment income”. The difference between the fair value and the amortized cost is recognized in the revaluation reserve.

In the case of sale of financial instruments available for sale, the value of accumulated revaluation reserve is derecognized and recognized under “Net profit or loss on realization and impairment loss on financial assets”.

5.12.3. Financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss

Financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss include:

  • financial instruments held for trading – assets acquired to be sold in a short term or liabilities incurred to be repurchased in a short term, and derivatives, which are not recognized as effective hedging derivatives;
  • financial instruments designated upon initial recognition as at fair value through profit or loss, provided that the fair value may be reliably estimated. Such financial instruments include:

- some instruments to cover technical provisions and investment contracts liabilities in life insurance. Adopted classification of those instruments eliminates or significantly reduces a measurement or recognition inconsistency between assets and liabilities covered by those assets;

- financial instruments managed and evaluated based on fair value in accordance to documented risk management principles;

- liabilities arising from unit-linked investment contracts;

- liabilities to participants of consolidated investment funds.

Fair value measurement principles are described in point 10.1. The effects of a change in the measurement of financial instruments measured at fair value, including income from interest and a change in the value of liabilities due to unit-linked investment contracts, are recognized under “Net change in the fair value of assets and liabilities measured at fair value” in the period to which they relate.

Derivatives

Derivatives are recognized in the accounting records at fair value as at the transaction date. Subsequently, they are measured at fair value according to the rules described in point 10.1.3.

Derivatives are recognized as financial assets, if their fair value is positive, or as financial liabilities, if it is negative.

Changes in the fair value of derivatives which are not hedging instruments are recognized under “Net change in the fair value of assets and liabilities measured at fair value”

5.12.4. Loans, borrowings and other receivables

Loans, borrowings, and other receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted on an active market, other than:

  • those that the entity intends to sell immediately or in the near term, which shall be classified as held for trading, and those that the entity upon initial recognition designates at the fair value through profit or loss;
  • those that the entity upon initial recognition designated as available for sale;
  • those for which the holder may not recover substantially all of its initial investment, other than because of credit deterioration, which shall be classified as available for sale.

Loans, borrowings, and other receivables include in particular:

  • debt securities acquired as part of a contract under which the seller has kept practically all risks and benefits related thereto (buy-sell-back and reverse-repo transactions);
  • debt securities not quoted on an active market;
  • deposits in credit institutions;
  • granted loans;
  • loan receivables from clients;
  • receivables from concluded insurance contracts (including reinsurance);
  • other receivables.

Loans, borrowings, and other receivables, excluding receivables from concluded insurance contracts and other short-term receivables, are measured as at the balance sheet date at amortized cost.

Due to their nature, receivables from concluded insurance contracts and other short-term receivables are measured at the nominal value less any impairment losses (the manner of estimating the impairment losses for insurance receivables is described in point 6.2.2.4).

The effects of measurement of loans, borrowings, and other receivables at amortized cost are recognized under “Net investment income”.

5.12.5. Financial liabilities other than ones measured at fair value

Financial liabilities measured at amortized cost, with gains or losses on the measurement recognized under “Interest expense”, include:

  • liabilities to banks and clients due to current and term deposits;
  • debt instruments issued by PZU Group;
  • investment contracts with guaranteed and fixed terms and conditions;
  • security sales transactions with an obligation to buy them back on a predefined day at a predefined price (sell-buy-back and repo transactions).

Trade liabilities are short-term in nature and, thus, are measured at the amount due.

5.12.6. Hedge accounting

Hedge accounting is used for symmetric recognition of offsetting changes in fair value of hedging instruments and hedged items in the statement of profit or loss. Hedge accounting is applied, when the following conditions are met:

  • at the inception of the hedge, the hedging relationship is formally designated and documented, including the entity's risk management objective and strategy for undertaking the hedge. The documentation includes the identification of the hedging instrument, the hedged item, the nature of the risk being hedged, and how the entity assessed the hedging instrument's effectiveness;
  • The hedge is expected to be highly effective in achieving offsetting changes in fair value or cash flows attributable to the hedged risk, consistently with the originally documented risk management strategy regarding the specific hedging relationship;
  • the forecast transaction that is the subject of the hedge must be highly probable and must present an exposure to variability in cash flows that could affect profit or loss;
  • the effectiveness of the hedge can be reliably measured, which means it is possible to reliably estimate cash flows relating to the hedged item and the hedging instrument;
  • the hedge is being constantly evaluated in terms of its effectiveness throughout the financial reporting periods, for which the hedge was established.

Some PZU Group entities do not apply hedge accounting of cash flows.

A cash flow hedge is a hedge of the exposure to variability in cash flows that is attributable to a particular risk associated with a recognized asset or liability or a highly probable forecast transaction and could affect the statement of profit or loss.

The hedging strategy is aimed at hedging the interest rate risk arising from the variability of cash flows from assets with variable interest rates, using IRS transactions in PLN. The hedged items are cash flows from loans and borrowings (in PLN) portfolio of variable interest rate. The hedging instruments are IRS transactions providing fixed interest based on a fixed rate, and the interest is paid on the basis of a variable rate. Hedged items are measured at amortized cost, and hedging instruments are measured at fair value.

The result of the valuation of the effective portion of cash flow hedges is recognized in other comprehensive income. The ineffective portion of the hedge is recognized in the statement of profit or loss.

5.12.7. Impairment of financial assets

As at the end of each financial year, potential existence of objective evidence for impairment of a financial asset or a group of financial assets is assessed.

If any objective evidence for impairment resulting from events following the initial recognition of financial assets and resulting in a decrease in expected future cash flows occurs, appropriate impairment losses are created and charged to the current period expenses. Expected impairment losses resulting from future events, irrespective of their probability, are not recognized.

Objective evidence for impairment includes information concerning the following events:

  • material financial difficulties of the issuer or debtor;
  • breach of the terms and conditions of the contract (such as outstanding interest or principal repayment);
  • special facilities given to the borrower by the creditor (for economic or legal reasons resulting from financial difficulties of the borrower), which otherwise would not have been given (forbearance);
  • high probability of liquidation, bankruptcy or other financial reorganization of the borrower;
  • disappearance of an active market for a given financial instrument due to financial difficulties of the issuer;
  • availability of data indicating measurable decrease in estimated future cash flows related to the group of financial assets since their initial recognition, despite lack of evidence indicating impairment of a single financial asset, including:
  • negative changes concerning the status of the borrowers’ payments in the group (e.g. an increase in the amount of outstanding payments); or
  • unfavorable changes of the economic situation in the industry, region, etc., which lead to deterioration in the debtors’ solvency;
  • significant or prolonged decrease in the fair value of investment in an equity instrument below the acquisition cost (additional information is presented in 6.2.2.3);
  • unfavorable changes in the technological, market, economic, legal or other situation affecting the issuer of the equity instruments which indicate that the costs of investment in the equity instrument may not be recovered.

Premises indicating an impairment loss concerning credit exposures may be divided into groups of premises related to:

  • client, including:

- individual client – personal bankruptcy, death, lack of information on the client’s place of residence, job loss, client’s financial problems;

- business client – rectification proceedings, bankruptcy/liquidation, material downgrading of the internal scoring/rating, significant deterioration of economic and financial condition;

- both individual and business client – significant delay in payment or unauthorized overdraft, undisclosed client’s assets.

  • account – issue of a bank enforcement order, instigation of enforcement proceedings, successful termination of a contract, restructuring, exposure questioned by the debtor in court, identified act of fraud.

If there is no objective evidence of impairment of the individually assessed financial asset, whether the asset is relevant or not, the asset is included in a group of financial assets with similar characteristics of credit risk and they are jointly assessed for impairment. The assets assessed individually for impairment loss for which an impairment loss was recognized are not included in the joint assessment for impairment.

The amount of the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount of the asset and the present value of estimated future cash flows (excluding future credit losses which were not incurred) which are discounted using the original effective interest rate of the financial instrument (i.e. effective interest rate determined upon initial recognition). Interest income is recognized with the application of the interest rate used for discounting future cash flows for the assessment of an impairment loss. The exposures for which an impairment was evidenced are classified as individually assessed and assessed in a group (collectively).

In the case of premises indicating impairment of financial instruments available for sale, losses initially recognized in revaluation reserve are charged to the statement of profit or loss.

Impairment losses on financial instruments available for sale charged to profit or loss:

  • in the case of equity instruments – they must not be reversed;
  • in the case of debt instruments – they may be reversed, provided that in the subsequent periods the fair value of a given debt instrument increases, and the increase may be objectively associated with the event following recognition of the impairment loss in the statement of profit or loss.

The estimates and judgments used for determination of impairment losses are presented in 6.2.2.

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