Q. What do you mean by Risk management contracts?
In the normal course of business the Company utilizes a variety of off-balance-sheet financial instruments to manage its exposure to fluctuations in interest and foreign currency exchange rates including interest rate as well as cross-currency swap agreements forward and option contracts and interest rate exchange-traded futures.
The company designates interest rate as well as cross-currency swaps as hedges of investments and debt and accrues the differential to be paid or received under the agreements as interest rates change over the lives of the contracts. Differences paid or received on exchange agreements are recognized as adjustments to interest income or expense over the life of the swaps thereby adjusting the effective interest rate on the underlying investment or obligation. Losses and Gains on the termination of swap agreements prior to the original maturity are deferred and amortized to interest income or expense over the original term of the swaps. Losses and Gains arising from interest rate futures forwards and option contracts and foreign currency forward and option contracts are recognized in income or expense as offsets of gains and losses resulting from the underlying hedged transactions.
Cash flows from interest rate as well as foreign exchange risk management activities are classified in the same category as the cash flows from the related investment borrowing or foreign exchange activity.