Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

J. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Significant accounting policies are contained in Note B of the OCR financial statements. As disclosed in the financial statements, Management estimates the fair value of financial instruments. Because the estimates are based on judgment and available information, actual results may differ and could have a material impact on the financial statements.

Fair value of financial instruments. Under statutory reporting, ADB carries selected financial instruments and derivatives, as defined by ASC Topics 815 and 825, on a fair value basis. These financial instruments include embedded derivatives that are valued and accounted for in the balance sheet as a whole. Fair values are usually based on quoted market prices. If market prices are not readily available, fair values are usually determined using market-based pricing models incorporating market data requiring judgment and estimates. These are discussed in more detail in Note B of OCR’s financial statements.

The pricing models used to determine the fair value of ADB’s financial instruments are based on discounted cash-flow models. ADB reviews the pricing models to assess whether the assumptions are appropriate and produce results that reflect the reasonable valuation of the financial instruments. In addition, the fair values derived from the models are subject to ongoing internal and external verification and review. The models use market-sourced inputs, such as interest rates, exchange rates, and option volatilities. The selection of these inputs may involve some judgment and may impact net income. ADB believes that the estimates of fair values are reasonable.

Provision for loan losses and loan loss reserves. In 2006, the Board of Directors approved the revision of the loan loss provisioning methodology for ADB’s nonsovereign operations to a risk-based model. Provision against loan losses for impaired loans reflects Management’s judgment and estimate of the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate. ADB considers a loan impaired when, based on current information and events, ADB will probably be unable to collect all the amounts due according to the loan’s contractual terms. The provisioning estimate is done quarterly. In 2010, ADB refined the provisioning methodology to include collective provisioning for the nonsovereign portfolio.

ADB uses an internal risk-rating system to estimate expected loss for unimpaired loans. The probability of default is based on the historical default experience of sovereign borrowers to multilateral development institutions; for nonsovereign loans, it is based on Moody’s Investors Service default data. A loan loss reserve is established within equity for the expected losses as an allocation of net income, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors.

should be maintained, but would benefit from technical updates to some of the risk parameters. The Board of Directors approved that the three parameters - probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and exposure at default (EAD) – be determined based on the following principles: (i) PD: based on credit risk rating and the historical default frequencies of external providers; (ii) LGD: for sovereign loans, the LGD will vary depending on the classification of borrowers as regular OCR-only, OCR blend, or concessional assistance-only; for nonsovereign loans, LGD will

be set based on borrowers and facility rating; and (iii) EAD: will be set depending on conditionality and likelihood of full drawdown at the time of a potential default.

Pension and other postretirement benefits. ADB provides staff pension and postretirement medical benefits for all eligible staff members, provided they have not reached the normal retirement age, which is 60 for staff on board before 1 October 2017 and 62 for staff who joined on or after 1 October 2017. Net periodic benefit costs are allocated between OCR and the ADF based on the agreed cost-sharing methodology. The underlying actuarial assumptions used to determine the projected benefit obligations, accumulated benefit obligations, and funded status associated with these plans are based on market interest rates, past experience, and Management’s best estimate of future benefit changes and economic conditions. For further details, refer to Notes to Financial Statements—Note Q—Staff Pension and Postretirement Medical Benefits.