JP Morgan Chase 2015 Annual Report Download - page 194

Notes to consolidated financial statements
184 JPMorgan Chase & Co./2015 Annual Report
Note 3 – Fair value measurement
JPMorgan Chase carries a portion of its assets and liabilities
at fair value. These assets and liabilities are predominantly
carried at fair value on a recurring basis (i.e., assets and
liabilities that are measured and reported at fair value on
the Firm’s Consolidated balance sheets). Certain assets
(e.g., certain mortgage, home equity and other loans where
the carrying value is based on the fair value of the
underlying collateral), liabilities and unfunded lending-
related commitments are measured at fair value on a
nonrecurring basis; that is, they are not measured at fair
value on an ongoing basis but are subject to fair value
adjustments only in certain circumstances (for example,
when there is evidence of impairment).
Fair value is defined as the price 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. Fair value is based on quoted market
prices, where available. If listed prices or quotes are not
available, fair value is based on models that consider
relevant transaction characteristics (such as maturity) and
use as inputs observable or unobservable market
parameters, including but not limited to yield curves,
interest rates, volatilities, equity or debt prices, foreign
exchange rates and credit curves. Valuation adjustments
may be made to ensure that financial instruments are
recorded at fair value, as described below.
The level of precision in estimating unobservable market
inputs or other factors can affect the amount of gain or loss
recorded for a particular position. Furthermore, while the
Firm believes its valuation methods are appropriate and
consistent with those of other market participants, the
methods and assumptions used reflect management
judgment and may vary across the Firm’s businesses and
portfolios.
The Firm uses various methodologies and assumptions in
the determination of fair value. The use of different
methodologies or assumptions by other market participants
compared with those used by the Firm could result in a
different estimate of fair value at the reporting date.
Valuation process
Risk-taking functions are responsible for providing fair value
estimates for assets and liabilities carried on the
Consolidated balance sheets at fair value. The Firm’s
valuation control function, which is part of the Firm’s
Finance function and independent of the risk-taking
functions, is responsible for verifying these estimates and
determining any fair value adjustments that may be
required to ensure that the Firm’s positions are recorded at
fair value. In addition, the firmwide Valuation Governance
Forum (“VGF”) is composed of senior finance and risk
executives and is responsible for overseeing the
management of risks arising from valuation activities
conducted across the Firm. The VGF is chaired by the
Firmwide head of the valuation control function (under the
direction of the Firm’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”)), and
includes sub-forums covering the Corporate & Investment
Bank, Consumer & Community Banking (“CCB”), Commercial
Banking, Asset Management and certain corporate
functions including Treasury and Chief Investment Office
(“CIO”).
The valuation control function verifies fair value estimates
provided by the risk-taking functions by leveraging
independently derived prices, valuation inputs and other
market data, where available. Where independent prices or
inputs are not available, additional review is performed by
the valuation control function to ensure the reasonableness
of the estimates. The review may include evaluating the
limited market activity including client unwinds,
benchmarking of valuation inputs to those for similar
instruments, decomposing the valuation of structured
instruments into individual components, comparing
expected to actual cash flows, reviewing profit and loss
trends, and reviewing trends in collateral valuation. There
are also additional levels of management review for more
significant or complex positions.
The valuation control function determines any valuation
adjustments that may be required to the estimates provided
by the risk-taking functions. No adjustments are applied to
the quoted market price for instruments classified within
level 1 of the fair value hierarchy (see below for further
information on the fair value hierarchy). For other
positions, judgment is required to assess the need for
valuation adjustments to appropriately reflect liquidity
considerations, unobservable parameters, and, for certain
portfolios that meet specified criteria, the size of the net
open risk position. The determination of such adjustments
follows a consistent framework across the Firm:
• Liquidity valuation adjustments are considered where an
observable external price or valuation parameter exists
but is of lower reliability, potentially due to lower market
activity. Liquidity valuation adjustments are applied and
determined based on current market conditions. Factors
that may be considered in determining the liquidity
adjustment include analysis of: (1) the estimated bid-
offer spread for the instrument being traded; (2)
alternative pricing points for similar instruments in
active markets; and (3) the range of reasonable values
that the price or parameter could take.
• The Firm manages certain portfolios of financial
instruments on the basis of net open risk exposure and,
as permitted by U.S. GAAP, has elected to estimate the
fair value of such portfolios on the basis of a transfer of
the entire net open risk position in an orderly
transaction. Where this is the case, valuation
adjustments may be necessary to reflect the cost of
exiting a larger-than-normal market-size net open risk
position. Where applied, such adjustments are based on
factors that a relevant market participant would
consider in the transfer of the net open risk position,
including the size of the adverse market move that is
likely to occur during the period required to reduce the
net open risk position to a normal market-size.