-71- of the relevant years, and it did not prescribe specific methods for arriving at fair value. d. SFAS No. 133 In June 1998, the FASB issued SFAS No. 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities”. SFAS No. 133 required non-hedging derivative instruments such as swaps to be reported at fair value on the balance sheet, with gains and losses included in current earnings. SFAS No. 133 was not effective for any of the relevant years, and it did not prescribe specific methods for arriving at fair value. G. Methods of Valuing Swaps During the relevant years, the three main methods which dealers used to value their swaps portfolios were the bid-ask method, the midmarket method, and the adjusted midmarket method. 1. Bid-Ask Method The bid-ask method was essentially a market comparables approach to valuation. Some dealers used this method, and it was recognized as a valid method by the Group of Thirty (G-30) (discussed infra p. 76) and the OCC. Under the bid-ask method, each swap generally was valued by (1) identifying the generic swap to which it was most comparable, (2) ascertaining the bid or ask price for that generic swap, and (3) adjusting the ascertained price to reflect any differences between the generic swap and the swap being valued. Bid prices were used to value aPage: Previous 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Next
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