Prudential Regulation Authority Rulebook

1.

Institutions shall ensure that all trading book positions and non-trading book positions measured at fair value shall be subject to the standards for prudent valuation specified in this Article and in Chapter 4 of the Trading Book (CRR) Part of the PRA Rulebook. Institutions shall in particular ensure that the prudent valuation of their trading book positions achieves an appropriate degree of certainty having regard to the dynamic nature of trading book positions and non-trading book positions measured at fair value, the demands of prudential soundness and the mode of operation and purpose of capital requirements in respect of trading book positions and non-trading book positions measured at fair value.

2.

Institutions shall establish and maintain systems and controls sufficient to provide prudent and reliable valuation estimates. Institutions shall ensure that those systems and controls shall include at least the following elements:

1. (a) documented policies and procedures for the process of valuation, including clearly defined responsibilities of the various areas involved in the determination of the valuation, sources of market information and review of their appropriateness, guidelines for the use of unobservable inputs reflecting the institution's assumptions of what market participants would use in pricing the position, frequency of independent valuation, timing of closing prices, procedures for adjusting valuations, month end and ad-hoc verification procedures;
2. (b) reporting lines for the department accountable for the valuation process that are clear and independent of the front office, which shall ultimately be to the management body.

3.

Institutions shall revalue trading book positions at fair value at least on a daily basis. Institutions shall report changes in the value of those positions in the profit and loss account of the institution.

4.

Institutions shall mark their trading book positions and non-trading book positions measured at fair value to market whenever possible, including when applying the relevant capital treatment to those positions.

5.

When marking to market, an institution shall use the more prudent side of bid and offer unless the institution can close out at mid-market. Where institutions make use of this derogation, they shall every six months inform their competent authorities of the positions concerned and furnish evidence that they can close out at mid-market.

6.

Where marking to market is not possible, institutions shall conservatively mark to model their positions and portfolios, including when calculating own funds requirements for positions in the trading book and positions measured at fair value in the non-trading book.

7.

Institutions shall comply with the following requirements when marking to model:

1. (a) senior management shall be aware of the elements of the trading book or of other fair-valued positions which are subject to mark to model and shall understand the materiality of the uncertainty thereby created in the reporting of the risk/performance of the business;
2. (b) institutions shall source market inputs, where possible, in line with market prices, and shall assess the appropriateness of the market inputs of the particular position being valued and the parameters of the model on a frequent basis;
3. (c) where available, institutions shall use valuation methodologies which are accepted market practice for particular financial instruments or commodities;
4. (d) where the model is developed by the institution itself, the institution shall ensure that it is based on appropriate assumptions, which have been assessed and challenged by suitably qualified parties independent of the development process;
5. (e) institutions shall have in place formal change control procedures and shall hold a secure copy of the model and use it periodically to check valuations;
6. (f) risk management shall be aware of the weaknesses of the models used and how best to reflect those in the valuation output; and
7. (g) institutions shall subject their models to periodic review to determine the accuracy of their performance, which shall include assessing the continued appropriateness of assumptions, analysis of profit and loss versus risk factors, and comparison of actual close out values to model outputs.

For the purposes of point (d) of the first subparagraph, institutions shall ensure that the model is developed or approved independently of the trading desks and is independently tested, including validation of the mathematics, assumptions and software implementation.

8.

Institutions shall perform independent price verification in addition to daily marking to market or marking to model. Institutions shall ensure that verification of market prices and model inputs shall be performed by a person or unit independent from persons or units that benefit from the trading book, at least monthly, or more frequently depending on the nature of the market or trading activity. Where independent pricing sources are not available or pricing sources are more subjective, institutions shall take into account that prudent measures such as valuation adjustments may be appropriate.

9.

Institutions shall establish and maintain procedures for considering valuation adjustments.

10.

Institutions shall formally consider the following valuation adjustments: unearned credit spreads, close-out costs, operational risks, market price uncertainty, early termination, investing and funding costs, future administrative costs and, where relevant, model risk.

11.

Institutions shall establish and maintain procedures for calculating an adjustment to the current valuation of any less liquid positions, which can in particular arise from market events or institution-related situations such as concentrated positions and/or positions for which the originally intended holding period has been exceeded. Institutions shall, where necessary, make such adjustments in addition to any changes to the value of the position required for financial reporting purposes and shall design such adjustments to reflect the illiquidity of the position. Under those procedures, institutions shall consider several factors when determining whether a valuation adjustment is necessary for less liquid positions. Those factors include the following:

1. (a) the amount of time it would take to hedge out the position or the risks within the position beyond the liquidity horizons;
2. (b) the volatility and average of bid/offer spreads;
3. (c) the availability of market quotes (number and identity of market makers) and the volatility and average of trading volumes including trading volumes during periods of market stress;
4. (d) market concentrations;
5. (e) the ageing of positions;
6. (f) the extent to which valuation relies on marking-to-model;
7. (g) the impact of other model risks.

12.

When using third party valuations or marking to model, institutions shall consider whether to apply a valuation adjustment. In addition, institutions shall consider the need to establish adjustments for less liquid positions and on an ongoing basis review their continued suitability. Institutions shall also explicitly assess the need for valuation adjustments relating to the uncertainty of parameter inputs used by models.

13.

With regard to complex products, including securitisation exposures and n-th-to-default credit derivatives, institutions shall explicitly assess the need for valuation adjustments to reflect the model risk associated with using a possibly incorrect valuation methodology and the model risk associated with using unobservable (and possibly incorrect) calibration parameters in the valuation model.

14.

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[Note: This rule corresponds to Article 105 of the CRR as it applied immediately before revocation by the Treasury.]