FASB Update Removes Roadblock to Hedging With Derivatives

November 13, 2017 Bob Newman

November 13, 2017

Complex hedge accounting rules are high on the list of reasons that community banks have chosen to avoid derivatives as risk management tools. But the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) created a stir a little over a year ago, when it promised to improve accounting for hedging activities. That stir turned into a wave of fanfare from community banks in August 2017, when the final Accounting Standards Update (ASU 2017-12) was issued for ASC 815 - Derivatives and Hedging, the standard formerly known as FAS 133. In order to appreciate the excitement surrounding the new hedging guidance from FASB, it helps to take a quick look at the history behind the accounting standard that is widely considered to be the most complex the accounting organization has ever issued.

About the Author

Bob Newman is Managing Director for Chatham’s Financial Institutions business which specializes in interest rate risk management, hedge accounting and investment advisory for banks. Prior to joining Chatham in 2003, Bob spent 20 years in commercial banking, helping to start the derivatives operation at Maryland National Bank and expand the derivatives effort at SunTrust. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BA in Economics and has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
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