Impairment loss provisions for individually significant impaired loans assessed on a caseby-case basis, taking into account the financial condition of the counterparty and any guarantor and the realisable value of any collateral held.
Independent standard-setting body of the IASC Foundation. Its members are responsible for the development and publication of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and for approving Interpretations of IFRS as developed by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC).
A contract under which two counterparties agree to exchange periodic interest payments on a predetermined monetary principal, the notional amount.
A credit risk profile similar to a rating of BBB-/Baa3 or better, as defined by independent rating agencies.
A US variable-rate mortgage. ARMs include: hybrid ARMs which typically have a fixed-rate period followed by an adjustable-rate period; interest-only ARMs where interest only is payable for a specified number of years, typically for three to ten years; and payment-option ARMs that allow the borrower to choose periodically between various payment options.
US mortgage loans with a higher credit quality than sub-prime loans but with features that disqualify the borrower from a traditional prime loan. Alt-A lending characteristics include limited documentation; high loan-to-value ratio; secured on non-owner occupied properties; and debt-to-income ratio above normal limits.
Aggregate of contractual payments due on a debt that have not been met by the borrower. A loan or other financial asset is said to be ‘in arrears’ when payments have not been made.
Assets managed by the Group on behalf of clients.
Negotiable certificates representing one or several shares. Their face value is stated in dollars and interest is also payable in dollars. ADRs allow American investors to buy shares in foreign-based companies that are not quoted on an American Stock Exchange.
Activity that consists of attempting to profit by price differences on the same or similar financial assets. For example, in the case of a takeover bid, where the predator offers a price that exceeds the price at which the target’s shares are trading.