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CPA FRM - Module 5: Interest rate risk management | KnowledgEquity

At the end of this module you should be able to:

  • explain what interest rate risk is

  • identify the sources of interest rate risk

  • evaluate the implications of interest rate risk management on cash flow

  • determine the key drivers that impact on interest rate risk management

  • evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of techniques to manage interest rate risk.




interest rate risks

  • borrowings: risk of rising interest rates

  • investment: risk of falling interest rates

  • assets/liabilities: fair value fluctuations

  • supply/demand: sales volume and value fluctuations


Carsales.com - interest rate risk

  • The Group's main interest rate risk arises from long-term borrowings. The Group's fixed rate borrowings and receivables are carried at amortized costs. They are therefore not subject to interest rate risk as defined in AASB 7 since neither the carrying amount nor the future cash flows will fluctuate because of a change in market rates.


Quiz. What does the RBA cash rate represent?

  • the bank bill swap rate (BBSW) 1

  • the 90 day bank bill futures 2

  • the overnight money market interest rate

  • the bank bill swap bid rate (BBSY) 4


  1. BBSW: a short-term interest rate used a benchmark used for pricing securities. It is calculated and published by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Typically the cash rate and BBSW rate are highly correlated.

  2. 90 day bank bill futures: a benchmark indicator for short interest rates and is traded at the ASX.

  3. cash rate: the interest rate on unsecured overnight loans between banks. It is set by the Reserve bank of Australia (RBA).

  4. BBSY: a benchmark derived from the BBSW and calculated as the average of the national best bid and best offer. It is usually 5 basis points above the BBSW.


Quiz. How is the RBA real cash rate calculated?

  • It is the difference between the cash rate and the BBSW

  • It is the difference between the cash rate and inflation

  • It is the difference between the cash rate and BBSY

  • It is the difference between the cash rate and the 90 bank bill futures


Quiz. Which three economies are included in the official policy interest rates of the G3?

  • Australia, China and the United States

  • The Euro area, Japan and the United States

  • Australia, the euro area and the United States


Interest rate drivers

  • central banks

  • G3 (forms the benchmark - US, Euro, Japan)

  • nominal vs real rate (nominal: stated rate, real: nominal - inflation rate)


Yield curve

  • normal yield curve: increases for longer maturities

  • inverse yield curve: decreases for long maturities

  • flat yield curve: remains the same


Interest rate risk management framework


1. set core criteria

  • role of the board

  • stakeholder expectation

  • internal operating environment

  • external operating environment


risk appetite

  • set by the board = management input + external environment

  • general policy - hedge strategy - liquidity risk - funding risk


establishing context

  • economic environment (yield curve)

  • organization culture

  • regulatory environment

  • competitors and substitutes

  • SWOT analysis


2. identify the exposures and sensitivities

  • timing mismatches

  • embedded options

  • offsets

  • commercial adjustments


Quiz. When the value of interest rate sensitive assets maturing in a given period exceeds the value of interest rate sensitive liabilities, what type of gap do we have?

  • positive (rate sensitive assets > rate sensitive liabilities)

  • negative (rate sensitive assets < rate sensitive liabilities)

  • neutral


Maturity profile and timing mismatches

  • identify maturity profiles for rate-sensitive assets/liabilities

  • plan ahead for rollovers, repayments and re-pricing adjustments

  • attempt to match their short-term assets with short-term liabilities, long-term assets with long-term liabilities

  • understand the effect of yield curves and interest rate movements


Offsets


Primary offset

  • organizations don't quickly jump into hedging interest rate exposures - they try as much as possible to offset exposure (by considering real derivatives, because they are cheaper than financial derivatives)

  • embedded options (CPI adjustments, on-charging, price limits)

  • e.g. if an organization is able to negotiate with a financial institution that if inflation rate increases then we will pass on this cost to the customer = primary offset

  • commercial (buying/selling, focus on margins, agreements/indexing)

  • diversification (portfolio theory, business unit exposures, centrally manage exposures)


e.g. Brazil might be operating in a very advanced economy as an example interest rates exposures or interest rates are very unfavorable but you might find that the in the case of Indonesia it could be the exact opposite and so when you bring these business units together you might find that is that our net worth between these organizations and so they the consolidated offset or the overall offset is actually less because of that portfolio because of that portfolio management of all these business units and


  • assets / liabilities

  • match your interest sensitive assets with your interest sensitive liabilities

  1. investments

  2. borrowings


Secondary offsets

  • financial instruments = expensive


Risk analysis

  • sensitivity analysis: how sensitive is the risk to movements

  • statistical analysis: what is the most likely outcome?

  • microsoft excel (goal seek, scenario manager, data analysis - e.g. regression)


3. appraise risks and set strategies

  • risk rating matrix

  • benchmarks

  • contingencies

Risk evaluation

  1. based on likelihood of occurrence

  2. based on impact or consequence

  3. subjective, but aim to be objective

  4. significance of rating determines action (& priority)



  • consequence table is very tailored to the organization

  • likelihood stable generally remains the same


Risk rating matrix


Targets and trigger levels


board will set benchmarks

  • return-based (e.g. ROA)

  • minimum product margins

trigger levels

  • determined by plotting potential outcomes

  • determining rates based on benchmarks


  1. budget rate

  2. minimum return

  3. productivity bonus


Payoff diagrams



  • what is the current interest rate and cost?

  • plot the cost/return for rates above and below current rate

  • mark on Y-axis return target and minimum acceptable OR maximum acceptable cost and target


Timeframe for interest rate risk management (IRRM)


Life of the asset?

  • asset expired, debt repaid, cost of debt reset

  • but, hedging long-term assets is expensive


Variability of cash flows?

  • ability (inability) to pass on changes in interest rates

  • e.g. electricity retailer with limited pricing authority


Fixed/floating ratio


considerations:

  • organisation' financial strength

  • ability to accept/withstand volatility

  • competitor's hedging policies

  • board's risk appetite


  1. covenants

  2. financial ratios

  3. meeting objectives

  4. cost of capital


E.g. Fixed hedge ratios:

  • 5 year period

  • 60% fixed




- significant costs (normal yield curve)

- repricing risk (on eventual reset)


E.g. Forward rate calculation:

  • forward rate for 1-year in 5-years' time




= 3.4559%


  • r6: today's (spot) 6-year swap rate

  • r5 today's (spot) 5-year swap rate


the cost of hedging in a normal yield curve setting increases into the future

it is compensating for an extra 0.2% (approx) each year on the 6-year swap rate


4. manage risks

  • treasury operations

  • hedging

  • working capital management

  • contract management


manage/treat risk

  • retain risk

  • remove source

  • change the likelihood

  • change the consequence

  • pass it on


risk management strategies

  • reduce exposure

  • protect target profit

  • remove uncertainty

  • crisis protection



Quiz. CBF Ltd has $1 million in borrowings on a floating rate and wants to remove uncertainty relating to its exposure to interest rate movements. Which instrument would it use?

  • an interest rate cap option

  • a pay-fixed receive-variable interest rate swap

  • a receive-fixed pay-variable interest rate swap


interest rate swaps

  • fixed rate is the 'swap rate'

  • floating reference rate usually the BBSW (or LIBOR in overseas markets)


interest rate swap pay-off

  • fixed-rate payer = BBSW rate - Swap rate

  • floating-rate payer = Swap rate - BBSW rate


Company A wants to protect against interest rates rising on its variable (BBSW) borrowings of $500,000. Company A decides to fix the rate at 5.5% by entering into a fixed-for-floating interest rate swap with TYM Bank, with quarterly exchanges.


BBSW at the end of the June quarter is 5.75%



final cash flows for Company A


Company A interest owed on variable rate borrowings:

$500,000 x 0.0575 x (91/365) = 7,168

Swap payment received by Company A from TYM Bank (312)

Company A net interest on borrowings = 6,856

Effective interest rate = 6,856 / ($500,000*(91/365)) = 0.05500 = 5.5% = the fixed rate under the swap


Interest rate options

  • buying an option gives you a right

  • selling an option gives you an obligation


Caps

  • protect against rising interest rates

  • 'capping' the interest rate (for borrowers)

  • buy an interest rate call option

the right to pay the cap (strike) rate at a future date

"long cap"


Floors

  • protect against falling interest rates

  • puts a 'floor' on the interest rate (for investors)

  • buy an interest rate put option

the right to receive the floor (strike) rate at a future date

"long put"



Which of the following would be the most likely reason for a company to enter into an interest rate collar option?

  • to cap the interest rate paid on borrowings at nil to minimal cost

  • to cap the interest rate paid on borrowings and make a profit on the option

  • to cap the interest rate paid on borrowings and benefit from any decrease in rate


Collars

  • used to decrease the cost of buying an option

  • buy a cap option to protect against rising rates

  • sell a floor option and receive a premium

  • right to pay the cap rate - pay premium

  • obligation to pay the floor rate - receive premium


E.g. protect against rising rates

  • sell a floor option (4%)

  • buy a cap option (6%)


BBSW = 4%

effective rate = floor 4%

BBSW < floor rate

effective rate = floor rate


BBSW = 7%

effective rate = cap 6%

BBSW > cap rate

effective rate = cap rate


BBSW = 5%

effective rate = BBSW = 5%

floor rate < BBSW < cap rate

effective rate = BBSW



Swaptions

  • an option to enter into a swap

  • payer swaption - pay fixed

  • receiver swaption - receive fixed


key points

  • if the swaption is "in the money", it will be exercised

  • e.g. for a payer swaption: if actual swap rate > swaption rate

  • ift he swaption is exercised then the swap will occur

  • otherwise, the swap does not occur


5. accounting and controls

  • reporting

  • governance


Accounting for interest rate risk products


derivatives must be recorded in the balance sheet at fair values (IFRS 9)

does the hedge qualify for hedge accounting?

  • e.g. eligible hedging instruments, eligible hedge items, formal designation, documentation and hedge effectiveness?

  • if yes, then fair value gains and losses can stay on the balance sheet until the underllying transaction is recorded in the P&L statement


Fair value

  • asset exchanged or liability settled

  • between knowledgeable, willing parties

  • arm's length, orderly transaction


  1. present value of future cash flows

  2. derivative fair values also incorporate counterparty credit risk


On 30th June 20X4, Wombat Pty Ltd entered into a fixed-for-floating interest rate swap on a notional principal of $1 million maturing on 30th June 20X9. Interest is calculated annually, with a fixed rate of 6% and a floating rate BBSW plus 1% margin.


You have been provided with the following market rate information as at 30 June 20X5 and requested to calculate the fair value of the swap.


Calculate the following amounts:


1. The discount factors that apply for each maturity date



  • = 1 / (1+4.5%)^(365/365) = 0.9569

  • = 1 / (1+4.75%)^2 = 0.9114

  • = 1 / (1+5.0%)^3 = 0.8638

  • = 1 / (1+5.5%)^4 = 0.8072


2. The 1-year forward rates that apply for each future period


  • = (DFnear / DFfar - 1) x (365 / d)

  • = ((0.9569/0.9114)-1) x (365/365) = 4.99%

  • = ((0.9114/0.8638)-1) x (365/365) = 5.51%

  • = ((0.8638/0.8072)-1) x (365/365) = 7.01%


3. The fair value of the swap


= PV of floating cash flows + PV of fixed cash flows



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