Directive 2006/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Prudent Valuation Methods

3. Marking to market is the at least daily valuation of positions at readily available close out prices that are sourced independently. Examples include exchange prices, screen prices, or quotes from several independent reputable brokers.

4. When marking to market, the more prudent side of bid/offer shall be used unless the institution is a significant market maker in the particular type of financial instrument or commodity in question and it can close out at mid market.

5. Where marking to market is not possible, institutions must mark to model their positions/portfolios before applying trading book capital treatment. Marking to model is defined as any valuation which has to be benchmarked, extrapolated or otherwise calculated from a market input.

6. The following requirements must be complied with when marking to model:

(a)

senior management shall be aware of the elements of the trading book which are subject to mark to model and shall understand the materiality of the uncertainty this creates in the reporting of the risk/performance of the business;

(b)

market inputs shall be sourced, where possible, in line with market prices, and the appropriateness of the market inputs of the particular position being valued and the parameters of the model shall be assessed on a frequent basis;

(c)

where available, valuation methodologies which are accepted market practice for particular financial instruments or commodities shall be used;

(d)

where the model is developed by the institution itself, it shall be based on appropriate assumptions, which have been assessed and challenged by suitably qualified parties independent of the development process;

(e)

there shall be formal change control procedures in place and a secure copy of the model shall be held and periodically used to check valuations;

(f)

risk management shall be aware of the weaknesses of the models used and how best to reflect those in the valuation output; and

(g)

the model shall be subject to periodic review to determine the accuracy of its performance (e.g. assessing the continued appropriateness of assumptions, analysis of profit and loss versus risk factors, comparison of actual close out values to model outputs).

For the purposes of point (d), the model shall be developed or approved independently of the front office and shall be independently tested, including validation of the mathematics, assumptions and software implementation.

7. Independent price verification should be performed in addition to daily marking to market or marking to model. This is the process by which market prices or model inputs are regularly verified for accuracy and independence. While daily marking to market may be performed by dealers, verification of market prices and model inputs should be performed by a unit independent of the dealing room, at least monthly (or, depending on the nature of the market/trading activity, more frequently). Where independent pricing sources are not available or pricing sources are more subjective, prudent measures such as valuation adjustments may be appropriate.