FASB Issues Narrow-Scope Improvements

Official announcement from FASB

oday, FASB issued narrow-scope improvements to its financial instrument standards as part of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2019-04. Included in the ASU are codification improvements related to ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), involving some key issues raised on the application of the new fair value hedging guidance:

• Measurement of the hedged item in a partial-term hedge of both interest rate and foreign exchange risk may use the assumed term of the hedge.

• Multiple partial-term hedges may be designated against a single financial instrument.

• The assumed maturity date of the hedge is to be used when amortizing fair value hedge basis adjustments.

• Clarification that fair value hedge basis adjustments related to foreign exchange risk should be excluded from disclosures under ASC 815-10-50-4EE.

The ASU also provides updates related to Not-for-Profit Entities and Private Companies, as well as clarification that the first-payments-received technique for hedges of changes in overall cash flows continues to be permitted.

Among its outstanding narrow-scope projects are similar questions involving fair value hedges using the Last of Layer Method, and whether it is permissible to assign hedges to multiple layers of a single closed portfolio of prepayable financial instruments.