Goldman Sachs 2013 Annual Report Download - page 125

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 5.
Fair Value Measurements
The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount that
would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a
liability in an orderly transaction between market
participants at the measurement date. Financial assets are
marked to bid prices and financial liabilities are marked to
offer prices. Fair value measurements do not include
transaction costs. The firm measures certain financial assets
and financial liabilities as a portfolio (i.e., based on its net
exposure to market and/or credit risks).
The best evidence of fair value is a quoted price in an active
market. If quoted prices in active markets are not available,
fair value is determined by reference to prices for similar
instruments, quoted prices or recent transactions in less
active markets, or internally developed models that
primarily use market-based or independently sourced
parameters as inputs including, but not limited to, interest
rates, volatilities, equity or debt prices, foreign exchange
rates, commodity prices, credit spreads and funding spreads
(i.e., the spread, or difference, between the interest rate at
which a borrower could finance a given financial
instrument relative to a benchmark interest rate).
U.S. GAAP has a three-level fair value hierarchy for
disclosure of fair value measurements. The fair value
hierarchy prioritizes inputs to the valuation techniques used
to measure fair value, giving the highest priority to level 1
inputs and the lowest priority to level 3 inputs. A financial
instrument’s level in the fair value hierarchy is based on the
lowest level of input that is significant to its fair
value measurement.
The fair value hierarchy is as follows:
Level 1. Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active
markets to which the firm had access at the measurement
date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.
Level 2. Inputs to valuation techniques are observable,
either directly or indirectly.
Level 3. One or more inputs to valuation techniques are
significant and unobservable.
The fair values for substantially all of the firm’s financial
assets and financial liabilities are based on observable prices
and inputs and are classified in levels 1 and 2 of the fair
value hierarchy. Certain level 2 and level 3 financial assets
and financial liabilities may require appropriate valuation
adjustments that a market participant would require to
arrive at fair value for factors such as counterparty and the
firm’s credit quality, funding risk, transfer restrictions,
liquidity and bid/offer spreads. Valuation adjustments are
generally based on market evidence.
Goldman Sachs 2013 Annual Report 123