HSBC 2012 Annual Report Download - page 392

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Notes on the Financial Statements (continued)
2 – Summary of significant accounting policies
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For all loans that are considered individually significant, HSBC assesses on a case-by-case basis at each balance
sheet date whether there is any objective evidence that a loan is impaired. The criteria used by HSBC to
determine that there is such objective evidence include:
– known cash flow difficulties experienced by the borrower;
– contractual payments of either principal or interest being past due for more than 90 days;
– the probability that the borrower will enter bankruptcy or other financial realisation;
– a concession granted to the borrower for economic or legal reasons relating to the borrower’s financial
difficulty that results in forgiveness or postponement of principal, interest or fees, where the concession is
not insignificant; and
– there has been deterioration in the financial condition or outlook of the borrower such that its ability to
repay is considered doubtful.
For those loans where objective evidence of impairment exists, impairment losses are determined considering the
following factors:
– HSBC’s aggregate exposure to the customer;
– the viability of the customer’s business model and their capacity to trade successfully out of financial
difficulties and generate sufficient cash flow to service debt obligations;
– the amount and timing of expected receipts and recoveries;
– the likely dividend available on liquidation or bankruptcy;
– the extent of other creditors’ commitments ranking ahead of, or pari passu with, HSBC and the likelihood
of other creditors continuing to support the company;
– the complexity of determining the aggregate amount and ranking of all creditor claims and the extent to
which legal and insurance uncertainties are evident;
– the realisable value of security (or other credit mitigants) and likelihood of successful repossession;
– the likely deduction of any costs involved in recovery of amounts outstanding;
– the ability of the borrower to obtain, and make payments in, the currency of the loan if not denominated in
local currency; and
– when available, the secondary market price of the debt.
The realisable value of security is determined based on the current market value when the impairment
assessment is performed. The value is not adjusted for expected future changes in market prices; however,
adjustments are made to reflect local conditions such as forced sale discounts.
Impairment losses are calculated by discounting the expected future cash flows of a loan, which includes
expected future receipts of contractual interest, at the loan’s original effective interest rate and comparing the
resultant present value with the loan’s current carrying amount. The impairment allowances on individually
significant accounts are reviewed at least quarterly and more regularly when circumstances require. This
normally encompasses re-assessment of the enforceability of any collateral held and the timing and amount of
actual and anticipated receipts. Individually assessed impairment allowances are only released when there is
reasonable and objective evidence of a reduction in the established loss estimate.
Collectively assessed loans and advances
Impairment is assessed on a collective basis in two circumstances:
– to cover losses which have been incurred but have not yet been identified on loans subject to individual
assessment; and
– for homogeneous groups of loans that are not considered individually significant.