Note 27 - Fair value of financial instruments

Financial instruments measured at fair value

Financial instruments that are booked at fair value comprise shares, parts of the money market certificate and bond portfolio (classified at fair value), derivatives, and debt included in hedge accounting. For further details, note 2 IFRS Accounting principles, and note 3 Critical estimates and assessments concerning the use of accounting principles. 

Financial instruments measured at amortised cost

Financial instruments that are not measured at fair value are recognised at amortised cost. For further details, see note 2 IFRS Accounting principles. Amortised cost entails valuing balance sheet items after initially agreed cash flows, adjusted for impairment. 

Measurement at fair value will invariably be encumbered with uncertainty. 

Measurement at fair value for items carried at amortised cost

Methods underlying the determination of fair value of financial instruments that are measured at amortised cost are described below:

Loans to and claims on customers
Current-rate loans are exposed to competition in the market, indicating that possible excess value in the portfolio will not be maintained over a long period. Fair value of current-rate loans is therefore set to amortised cost. The effect  of changes in credit quality in the portfolio is accounted for through collectively assessed impairment write-downs, therefore giving a good expression of fair value in that part of the portfolio where individual write-down assessments have not been made.

Individual write-downs are determined through an assessment of future cash flow, discounted by effective interest rate. Hence the discounted value gives a good expression of the fair value of these loans.

Fixed interest loan in NOK are already valued at fair value in the accounts, and are not included in the estimates described above.

Bonds held to maturity and bonds for lending and claim purpose
Change to fair value is calculated by reference to a theoretical valuation of market value based on interest rate and spread curves.

Loans to and claims on credit insitutions and Debt to credit institutions
For loans to and claims on credit institutions, as well as debt to credit institutions, fair value is estimated as equal to book value.