Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Investment, Policy

Interest-bearing Deposits, Securities Purchased under Agreements to Resell, and Federal Funds Sold. The Bank invests in interest-bearing deposits, securities purchased under agreements to resell, and Federal funds sold. These investments provide short-term liquidity and are carried at cost. Accrued interest receivable is recorded separately on the Statements of Condition.

These investments are evaluated quarterly for expected credit losses. If applicable, an allowance for credit loss is recorded with a corresponding adjustment to the provision for/(reversal of) credit losses. The Bank treats securities

purchased under agreements to resell as collateralized financing arrangements because they effectively represent short-term loans to counterparties that are considered by the Bank to be of investment quality, which are classified as assets in the Statements of Condition. Securities purchased under agreements to resell are held in safekeeping in the name of the Bank by third-party custodians approved by the Bank. In accordance with the terms of these loans, if the market value of the underlying securities decreases below the market value required as collateral, the counterparty must place an equivalent amount of additional securities as collateral or remit an equivalent amount of cash. Consequently, a credit loss would be recognized if there is a collateral shortfall which the Bank does not believe the counterparty will replenish in accordance with its contractual terms. The credit loss would be limited to the difference between the fair value of the collateral and the investment’s cost. The Bank invests in Federal funds sold with counterparties that are considered by the Bank to be of investment quality.

See Note 3 – Investments for details on the allowance methodologies relating to interest-bearing deposits, securities purchased under agreements to resell, and Federal funds sold.

Investment Securities. On a quarterly basis, the Bank evaluates its individual AFS investment securities in an unrealized loss position for impairment. A security is considered impaired when its fair value is less than its amortized cost basis. With respect to any debt security, a credit loss is defined as the amount by which the amortized cost basis exceeds the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected. If a credit loss exists but the entity does not intend to sell the debt security and it is not more likely than not that the entity will be required to sell the debt security before the anticipated recovery of its remaining amortized cost basis (the amortized cost basis less any current-period credit loss), an allowance for credit losses is recorded with a corresponding adjustment to the provision for/(reversal of) credit losses. The allowance is limited by the amount of the unrealized loss. Accrued interest receivable is recorded separately on the Statements of Condition. The allowance for credit losses excludes uncollectible accrued interest receivable, which is measured separately.

If management intends to sell an impaired security classified as AFS, or more likely than not will be required to sell the security before expected recovery of its amortized cost basis, any allowance for credit losses is written off and the amortized cost basis is written down to the security’s fair value at the reporting date with any incremental impairment reported in earnings as net unrealized gain/(loss) on AFS securities. If management does not intend to sell an impaired security classified as AFS and it is not more likely than not that management will be required to sell the debt security, then the credit portion of the difference is recognized as an allowance for credit losses and any remaining difference between the security’s fair value and amortized cost is recorded to net unrealized gain/(loss) on AFS securities within other comprehensive income/(loss).

Prior to January 1, 2020, credit losses were recorded as a direct write-down of the AFS security carrying value. For improvements in cash flows of AFS securities, interest income follows the recognition pattern pursuant to the impairment guidance in effect prior to January 1, 2020, and recoveries of amounts previously written off are recorded when received. AFS securities with a credit loss recognized pursuant to the impairment guidance in effect prior to January 1, 2020, continue to follow the prior accounting until maturity or disposition. For improvements in impaired AFS securities with an allowance for credit losses recognized after the adoption of the new guidance, the allowance for credit losses associated with recoveries may be derecognized up to its full amount. Effective January 1, 2020, the net non-credit-related other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) gain/(loss) on AFS securities was reclassified to net unrealized gain/(loss) on AFS securities within other comprehensive income/(loss).

Held-to-maturity (HTM) securities are carried at cost, adjusted for periodic principal repayments, amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts, and previous credit loss recognized in net income and Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) recorded prior to January 1, 2020. On a quarterly basis, the Bank evaluates its HTM investment securities for expected credit losses on a pool basis unless an individual assessment is deemed necessary because the securities do not possess similar risk characteristics. If necessary, an allowance for credit losses is recorded with a corresponding adjustment to the provision for/(reversal of) credit losses. Prior to January 1, 2020, credit losses were recorded as a direct write-down of the HTM security carrying value. Accrued interest

receivable is recorded separately on the Statements of Condition. The allowance for credit losses excludes uncollectible accrued interest receivable, which is measured separately.

For improvements in HTM securities impaired prior to January 1, 2020, interest income continues to follow the recognition pattern pursuant to the impairment guidance in effect prior to January 1, 2020, and recoveries of amounts previously written off are recorded when received. For improvements in impaired HTM securities with an allowance for credit losses recognized after the adoption of the new guidance, the allowance for credit losses associated with recoveries may be derecognized up to its full amount.

See Note 3 – Investments for details on the allowance methodologies relating to AFS and HTM securities.

Stockholders' Equity, Policy

Dividends on capital stock are recognized as dividends on the Statements of Capital Accounts, and dividends on mandatorily redeemable capital stock are recognized as interest expense on the Statements of Income.Under the Housing Act, the Director of the Finance Agency is responsible for setting the risk-based capital standards for the FHLBanks. The FHLBank Act and regulations governing the operations of the FHLBanks require that the Bank’s minimum capital stock requirement for shareholders must be sufficient to enable the Bank to meet its regulatory requirements for total capital, leverage capital, and risk-based capital. The Bank must maintain: (i) total regulatory capital in an amount equal to at least 4% of its total assets, (ii) leverage capital in an amount equal to at least 5% of its total assets, and (iii) permanent capital in an amount that is greater than or equal to its risk-based capital requirement.

Beginning in February 2020, the Finance Agency issued guidance that augmented existing statutory and regulatory capital requirements to require each FHLBank to maintain a ratio of at least two percent of capital stock to total assets in order to help preserve the cooperative structure incentives that encourage members to remain fully engaged in the oversight of their investment in the FHLBank. The Finance Agency will consider the proportion of capital stock to assets, measured on a daily average basis at monthend, when assessing each FHLBank’s capital management practices. As of March 31, 2020, the Bank was in compliance with this capital requirement.

Because the Bank issues only Class B stock, regulatory capital and permanent capital for the Bank are both composed of retained earnings and Class B stock, including mandatorily redeemable capital stock (which is classified as a liability for financial reporting purposes). Regulatory capital and permanent capital do not include AOCI. Leverage capital is defined as the sum of permanent capital, weighted by a 1.5 multiplier, plus non-permanent capital.

The risk-based capital requirement is equal to the sum of the Bank’s credit risk, market risk, and operations risk capital requirements, all of which are calculated in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Finance Agency. The Finance Agency may require an FHLBank to maintain a greater amount of permanent capital than is required by the risk-based capital requirement as defined.

Segment Reporting, Policy

The Bank uses an analysis of financial results based on the financial components and adjusted net interest income of two operating segments, the advances-related business and the mortgage-related business, as well as other financial information, to review and assess financial performance and determine financial management strategies related to the operations of these two business segments. For purposes of segment reporting, adjusted net interest income includes income and expense associated with net settlements from economic hedges that are recorded in “Net gain/(loss) on derivatives and hedging activities” in other income, excludes interest income and expense associated with ineffectiveness from fair value hedges that are recorded in the same line as the earnings effect of the hedged item, and excludes interest expense that is recorded in “Mandatorily redeemable capital stock.” Other key financial information, such as any credit-related OTTI losses on the Bank’s PLRMBS, other expenses, and assessments, is not included in the segment reporting analysis, but is incorporated into the Bank’s overall assessment of financial performance.

For more information on these operating segments, see “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 17 – Segment Information” in the Bank’s 2019 Form 10-K.

Derivatives, Embedded Derivatives

When a callable bond for which the Bank is the primary obligor is issued, the Bank may simultaneously enter into an interest rate swap (in which the Bank pays a variable rate and receives a fixed rate) with a call feature that mirrors the call option embedded in the bond (a sold callable swap). The Bank did not have any bonds with embedded features that met the requirements to separate the embedded feature from the host contract and designate the embedded feature as a stand-alone derivative at March 31, 2020, or December 31, 2019. The Bank has generally elected to account for certain bonds with embedded features under the fair value option, and these bonds are carried at fair value on the Statements of Condition.

Derivatives, Policy

The Bank is subject to credit risk from potential nonperformance by counterparties to the interest rate exchange agreements. All of the Bank’s agreements governing uncleared derivative transactions contain master netting provisions to help mitigate the credit risk exposure to each counterparty. The Bank manages counterparty credit risk through credit analyses and collateral requirements and by following the requirements of the Bank’s risk management policies, credit guidelines, and Finance Agency and other regulations. The Bank also requires credit support agreements on all uncleared derivatives.

For cleared derivatives, the clearinghouse is the Bank’s counterparty. The requirement that the Bank post initial and variation margin through a clearing agent, to the clearinghouse, exposes the Bank to institutional credit risk in the event that the clearing agent or the clearinghouse fails to meet its obligations. The use of cleared derivatives, however, mitigates the Bank’s overall credit risk exposure because a central counterparty is substituted for individual counterparties. Variation margin and initial margin are posted for changes in the value and risk profile of cleared derivatives. The Bank has analyzed the enforceability of offsetting rights applicable to its cleared derivative transactions and determined that the exercise of those offsetting rights by a non-defaulting party under these transactions should be upheld under applicable bankruptcy law and Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules in the event of a clearinghouse or clearing agent insolvency and under applicable clearinghouse rules upon a non-insolvency-based event of default of the clearinghouse or clearing agent. Based on this analysis, the Bank presents a net derivative receivable or payable for all of its transactions through a particular clearing agent with a particular clearinghouse.

Derivatives, Methods of Accounting, Hedging Derivatives

The Bank may enter into interest rate swaps (including callable, putable, and basis swaps); and cap and floor agreements (collectively, interest rate exchange agreements or derivatives). Most of the Bank’s interest rate exchange agreements are executed in conjunction with the origination of advances or the issuance of consolidated

obligations to create variable rate structures. The interest rate exchange agreements are generally executed at the same time the advances and consolidated obligations are transacted and generally have the same maturity dates as the related hedged instrument. The Bank transacts most of its derivatives with large banks and major broker-dealers. Some of these banks and broker-dealers or their affiliates buy, sell, and distribute consolidated obligations. Derivatives may be either uncleared or cleared. In an uncleared derivative transaction, the Bank’s counterparty is the executing bank or broker-dealer. In a cleared derivative transaction, the Bank may execute the transaction either directly with the executing bank or broker-dealer or on a swap execution facility, but in either case, the Bank’s counterparty is a derivatives clearing organization or clearinghouse once the derivative transaction has been accepted for clearing. The Bank is not a derivatives dealer and does not trade derivatives for short-term profit.

Additional uses of interest rate exchange agreements include: (i) offsetting embedded features in assets and liabilities, (ii) hedging anticipated issuance of debt, (iii) matching against consolidated obligation discount notes to create the equivalent of callable or non-callable fixed rate debt, (iv) modifying the repricing frequency of assets and liabilities, (v) matching against certain advances and consolidated obligations for which the Bank elected the fair value option, and (vi) exactly offsetting other derivatives cleared at a derivatives clearing organization. The Bank’s use of interest rate exchange agreements results in one of the following classifications: (i) a fair value hedge of an underlying financial instrument or (ii) an economic hedge of assets, liabilities, or other derivatives.

The Bank primarily uses the following interest rate exchange agreement instruments:

Interest Rate Swaps – An interest rate swap is an agreement between two entities to exchange cash flows in the future. The agreement sets the dates on which the cash flows will be paid and the manner in which the cash flows will be calculated. One of the simplest forms of an interest rate swap involves the promise by one party to pay cash flows equivalent to the interest on a notional principal amount at a predetermined fixed rate for a given period of time. In return for this promise, the party receives cash flows equivalent to the interest on the same notional principal amount at a variable rate for the same period of time. The variable rate received or paid by the Bank in most interest rate exchange agreements is based on a daily repricing index, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) or the effective Fed Funds rate.

Interest Rate Caps and Floors – In a cap agreement, additional cash flow is generated if the price or interest rate of an underlying variable rate rises above a certain threshold (or cap) price. In a floor agreement, additional cash flow is generated if the price or interest rate of an underlying variable rate falls below a certain threshold (or floor) price. Caps and floors may be used in conjunction with assets or liabilities. In general, caps and floors are designed as protection against the interest rate on a variable rate asset or liability rising above or falling below a certain level.

Hedging Activities. The Bank documents at inception all relationships between derivatives designated as hedging instruments and hedged items, its risk management objectives and strategies for undertaking various hedge transactions, and its method of assessing hedge effectiveness. Derivatives designated as fair value hedges may be transacted to hedge: (i) assets and liabilities on the Statements of Condition, (ii) firm commitments, or (iii) forecasted transactions. The Bank also formally assesses (both at hedge inception and on an ongoing basis) whether the hedging derivatives have been effective in offsetting changes in the fair value of hedged items attributable to the hedged risk and whether those derivatives may be expected to remain effective hedges in future periods. The Bank typically uses regression analyses or other statistical analyses to assess the effectiveness of its hedges. When it is determined that a derivative has not been or is not expected to be effective as a hedge, the Bank discontinues hedge accounting prospectively.

The Bank may have the following types of hedged items:

Investments – The Bank may invest in U.S. Treasury and agency obligations as well as agency MBS. In the past, the Bank has also invested in PLRMBS rated AAA at the time of acquisition. The interest rate and prepayment risk associated with these investment securities is managed through a combination of debt issuance and derivatives. The Bank may manage prepayment risk and interest rate risk by funding investment securities with consolidated

obligations that have call features or by hedging the prepayment risk with a combination of consolidated obligations and callable swaps. The Bank may execute callable swaps in conjunction with the issuance of certain liabilities to create funding that is economically equivalent to fixed rate callable debt. Although these derivatives are economic hedges against prepayment risk and are designated to individual liabilities, they do not receive either fair value or cash flow hedge accounting treatment. Investment securities may be classified as trading, AFS, or HTM.

The Bank may also manage the risk arising from changing market prices or cash flows of investment securities classified as trading or AFS by entering into interest rate exchange agreements that offset the changes in fair value or cash flows of the securities. Hedge relationships that involve trading securities are designated as economic hedges, while hedge relationships that involve AFS securities are designated as fair value hedges. For trading securities that have been designated as an economic hedge, the market value changes of both the trading securities and the associated interest rate exchange agreements are included in other income in the Statements of Income. For AFS securities that have been hedged and qualify as a fair value hedge, the Bank records the portion of the change in the fair value of the investment related to the risk being hedged in interest income together with the related change in the fair value of the derivative, and records the remainder of the change in the fair value of the investment in AOCI as “Net unrealized gain/(loss) on AFS securities.”

Advances – The Bank offers a wide range of advances structures to meet members’ funding needs. These advances may have maturities up to 30 years with fixed or adjustable rates and may include early termination features or options. The Bank may use derivatives to adjust the repricing and options characteristics of advances to more closely match the characteristics of the Bank’s funding liabilities. In general, whenever a member executes a fixed rate advance, fixed rate advance with embedded options, or a variable rate advance with embedded options, the Bank will simultaneously execute an interest rate exchange agreement with terms that offset the terms and any embedded options in the advance. The combination of the advance and the interest rate exchange agreement effectively creates a variable rate asset. Fixed rate advances without options that are offset with an interest rate exchange agreement are generally treated as fair value hedges. Advances with embedded options are recorded using the fair value option and are economically hedged using interest rate exchange agreements.

Mortgage Loans – The Bank’s investment portfolio includes fixed rate mortgage loans. The prepayment options embedded in mortgage loans can result in extensions or contractions in the expected repayment of these investments, depending on changes in estimated prepayment speeds. The Bank manages the interest rate risk and prepayment risk associated with fixed rate mortgage loans through a combination of debt issuance and derivatives. The Bank uses both callable and non-callable debt to achieve cash flow patterns and market value sensitivities for liabilities similar to those expected on the mortgage loans. Net income could be reduced if the Bank replaces prepaid mortgage loans with lower-yielding assets and the Bank’s higher funding costs are not reduced accordingly.

The Bank executes callable swaps in conjunction with the issuance of certain consolidated obligations to create funding that is economically equivalent to fixed rate callable bonds. Although these derivatives are economic hedges against the prepayment risk of specific loan pools and are referenced to individual liabilities, they do not receive either fair value or cash flow hedge accounting treatment.

Consolidated Obligations – Consolidated obligation bonds may be structured to meet the Bank’s or the investors’ needs. Common structures include fixed rate bonds with or without call options and adjustable rate bonds with or without embedded options. In general, when bonds are issued, the Bank simultaneously executes an interest rate exchange agreement with terms that offset the terms and embedded options, if any, of the consolidated obligation bond. This combination of the consolidated obligation bond and the interest rate exchange agreement effectively creates an adjustable rate bond. These transactions generally receive fair value hedge accounting treatment.

When the Bank issues consolidated obligation discount notes, it may also simultaneously enter into an interest rate exchange agreement to convert the fixed rate discount note to an adjustable rate discount note. This type of hedge is treated as an economic hedge.

In addition, when certain consolidated obligation bonds for which the Bank has elected the fair value option are issued, the Bank simultaneously executes an interest rate exchange agreement with terms that economically offset the terms of the consolidated obligation bond. However, this type of hedge is treated as an economic hedge because these combinations do not meet the requirements for fair value hedge accounting treatment.

Offsetting Derivatives – The Bank enters into derivatives to offset the economic effect of other derivatives that are no longer designated to advances, investments, or consolidated obligations. Offsetting derivatives do not receive hedge accounting treatment and are separately marked to market through earnings. The net result of the accounting for these derivatives does not significantly affect the operating results of the Bank.

The notional amount of an interest rate exchange agreement serves as a factor in determining periodic interest payments or cash flows received and paid. However, the notional amount of derivatives represents neither the actual amounts exchanged nor the overall exposure of the Bank to credit risk and market risk. The risks of derivatives can be measured meaningfully on a portfolio basis by taking into account the counterparties, the types of derivatives, the items being hedged, and any offsets between the derivatives and the items being hedged.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy

The fair value option provides an entity with an irrevocable option to elect fair value as an alternative measurement for selected financial assets, financial liabilities, unrecognized firm commitments, and written loan commitments not previously carried at fair value. It requires an entity to display the fair value of those assets and liabilities for which the entity has chosen to use fair value on the face of the Statements of Condition. Fair value is used for both the initial and subsequent measurement of the designated assets, liabilities, and commitments, with the changes in fair value recognized in net income. Interest income and interest expense on advances and consolidated bonds carried at fair value are recognized solely on the contractual amount of interest due or unpaid. Any transaction fees or costs are immediately recognized in non-interest income or non-interest expense.

For more information on the Bank’s election of the fair value option, see “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 19 – Fair Values” in the Bank’s 2019 Form 10-K.

The Bank has elected the fair value option for certain financial instruments to assist in mitigating potential earnings volatility that can arise from economic hedging relationships in which the carrying value of the hedged item is not adjusted for changes in fair value. The potential earnings volatility associated with using fair value only for the derivative is the Bank’s primary reason for electing the fair value option for financial assets and liabilities that do not qualify for hedge accounting or that have not previously met or may be at risk for not meeting the hedge effectiveness requirements.

Investment Securities – MBS – To value its MBS, the Bank obtains prices from multiple designated third-party pricing vendors when available. The pricing vendors use various proprietary models to price these securities. The inputs to those models are derived from various sources including, but not limited to: benchmark yields, reported trades, dealer estimates, issuer spreads, prices on benchmark securities, bids, offers, and other market-related data. Since many securities do not trade on a daily basis, the pricing vendors use available information as applicable, such as benchmark yield curves, benchmarking of like securities, sector groupings, and matrix pricing, to determine the prices for individual securities. Each pricing vendor has an established challenge process in place for all security valuations, which facilitates resolution of price discrepancies identified by the Bank.

At least annually, the Bank conducts reviews of the multiple pricing vendors to update and confirm its understanding of the vendors’ pricing processes, methodologies, and control procedures.

The Bank’s valuation technique for estimating the fair values of its MBS first requires the establishment of a median vendor price for each security. If three prices are received, the middle price is the median price; if two prices are received, the average of the two prices is the median price; and if one price is received, it is the median price (and also the default fair value) subject to additional validation. All vendor prices that are within a specified tolerance threshold of the median price are included in the cluster of vendor prices that are averaged to establish a default fair value. All vendor prices that are outside the threshold (outliers) are subject to further analysis including, but not limited to, comparison to prices provided by an additional third-party valuation service, prices for similar

securities and/or dealer estimates, or use of internal model prices, which are deemed to be reflective of all relevant facts and circumstances that a market participant would consider. Such analysis is also applied in those limited instances where no third-party vendor price or only one third-party vendor price is available in order to arrive at an estimated fair value. If an outlier (or some other price identified in the analysis) is determined to be a better estimate of fair value, then the outlier (or the other price, as appropriate) is used as the fair value rather than the default fair value. If, instead, the analysis confirms that an outlier is (or outliers are) not representative of fair value and the default fair value is the best estimate, then the default fair value is used as the fair value.

If all vendor prices received for a security are outside the tolerance threshold level of the median price, then there is no default fair value, and the fair value is determined by an evaluation of all outlier prices (or the other prices, as appropriate) as described above.

As of March 31, 2020, multiple vendor prices were received for most of the Bank’s MBS, and the fair value estimates for most of those securities were determined in accordance with the Bank’s valuation technique based on these vendor prices. Based on the Bank’s reviews of the pricing methods employed by the third-party pricing vendors and the relative lack of dispersion among the vendor prices (or, in those instances in which there were outliers, the Bank’s additional analyses), the Bank believes that its fair value estimates are reasonable and that the fair value measurements are classified appropriately in the fair value hierarchy. Based on limited market liquidity for PLRMBS, the fair value measurements for these securities were classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy.

Investment Securities – Non-MBS – To determine the estimated fair values of non-MBS investments, the Bank uses a market approach using prices from third-party pricing vendors, generally consistent with the methodologies for MBS. The Bank believes that its methodologies result in fair values that are reasonable and similar in all material respects based on the nature of the financial instruments being measured.

Advances Recorded Under the Fair Value Option – Because quoted prices are not available for advances, the fair values are measured using model-based valuation techniques (such as calculating the present value of future cash flows and reducing the amount for accrued interest receivable).

The Bank’s primary inputs for measuring the fair value of advances recorded under the fair value option are market-based consolidated obligation yield curve (CO Curve) inputs obtained from the Office of Finance. The CO Curve is then adjusted to reflect the rates on replacement advances with similar terms and collateral. These spread adjustments are not market-observable and are evaluated for significance in the overall fair value measurement and the fair value hierarchy level of the advance. The Bank obtains market-observable inputs for complex advances recorded under the fair value option. These inputs may include volatility assumptions, which are market-based expectations of future interest rate volatility implied from current market prices for similar options (swaption volatility and volatility skew). The discount rates used in these calculations are the replacement advance rates for advances with similar terms. Pursuant to the Finance Agency’s advances regulation, advances with an original term to maturity or repricing period greater than six months generally require a prepayment fee sufficient to make the Bank financially indifferent to the borrower’s decision to prepay the advances. The Bank determined that no adjustment is required to the fair value measurement of advances for prepayment fees. In addition, the Bank did not adjust its fair value measurement of advances recorded under the fair value option for creditworthiness primarily because advances were fully collateralized.

Other Assets – The estimated fair value of grantor trust assets is based on quoted market prices.

Derivative Assets and Liabilities – In general, derivative instruments transacted and held by the Bank for risk management activities are traded in over-the-counter markets where quoted market prices are not readily available. These derivatives are interest rate-related. For these derivatives, the Bank measures fair value using internally developed discounted cash flow models that use market-observable inputs, such as swap rates and volatility assumptions, which are market-based expectations of future interest rate volatility implied from current market

prices for similar options (swaption volatility and volatility skew), adjusted for counterparty credit risk, as necessary.

The Bank is subject to credit risk because of the risk of potential nonperformance by its derivative counterparties. To mitigate this risk, the Bank executes uncleared derivative transactions only with highly rated derivative dealers and major banks (derivative dealer counterparties) that meet the Bank’s eligibility criteria. In addition, the Bank has entered into master netting agreements and bilateral credit support agreements with all active derivative dealer counterparties that provide for delivery of collateral at specified levels to limit the Bank’s net unsecured credit exposure to these counterparties. Under these policies and agreements, the amount of unsecured credit exposure to an individual derivative dealer counterparty is set at zero (subject to a minimum transfer amount). The Bank clears its cleared derivative transactions only through clearing agents that meet the Bank’s eligibility requirements, and the Bank’s credit exposure to the clearinghouse is secured by variation margin received from the clearinghouse. All credit exposure from derivative transactions entered into by the Bank with member counterparties that are not derivative dealers must be fully secured by eligible collateral. The Bank evaluated the potential for the fair value of the instruments to be affected by counterparty credit risk and determined that no adjustments to the overall fair value measurements were required.

The fair values of the derivative assets and liabilities include accrued interest receivable/payable and cash collateral remitted to/received from counterparties. The estimated fair values of the accrued interest receivable/payable and cash collateral approximate their carrying values because of their short-term nature. The fair values of derivatives that met the netting requirements are presented on a net basis. If these netted amounts are positive, they are classified as an asset and, if negative, they are classified as a liability.

Consolidated Obligations Recorded Under the Fair Value Option – Because quoted prices in active markets are not generally available for identical liabilities, the Bank measures fair values using internally developed models that use primarily market-observable inputs. The Bank’s primary input for measuring the fair value of consolidated obligation bonds is a market-based CO Curve obtained from the Office of Finance. The Office of Finance constructs the CO Curve using the Treasury yield curve as a base curve, which is adjusted by indicative consolidated obligation spreads obtained from market-observable sources. These market indications are generally derived from pricing indications from dealers, historical pricing relationships, and market activity for similar liabilities, such as recent GSE issuances or secondary market activity. For consolidated obligation bonds with embedded options, the Bank also obtains market-observable inputs, such as volatility assumptions, which are market-based expectations of future interest rate volatility implied from current market prices for similar options (swaption volatility and volatility skew).

Adjustments may be necessary to reflect the Bank’s credit quality or the credit quality of the FHLBank System when valuing consolidated obligation bonds measured at fair value. The Bank monitors its own creditworthiness and the creditworthiness of the other FHLBanks and the FHLBank System to determine whether any adjustments are necessary for creditworthiness in its fair value measurement of consolidated obligation bonds. The credit ratings of the FHLBank System and any changes to the credit ratings are the basis for the Bank to determine whether the fair values of consolidated obligations recorded under the fair value option have been significantly affected during the reporting period by changes in the instrument-specific credit risk.

For instruments for which the fair value option has been elected, the related contractual interest income and contractual interest expense are recorded as part of net interest income on the Statements of Income. The remaining changes in fair value for instruments for which the fair value option has been elected are recorded as net gains/ (losses) on financial instruments held under the fair value option in the Statements of Income, except for changes in fair value related to instrument-specific credit risk, which are recorded in AOCI on the Statements of Condition. The fair value hierarchy is used to prioritize the fair value methodologies and valuation techniques as well as the inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value for assets and liabilities carried at fair value on the Statements of Condition. The inputs are evaluated and an overall level for the fair value measurement is determined. This overall level is an indication of market observability of the fair value measurement for the asset or liability. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). An entity must disclose the level within the fair value hierarchy in which the measurements are classified for all financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring or non-recurring basis.

The application of the fair value hierarchy to the Bank’s financial assets and financial liabilities that are carried at fair value either on a recurring or non-recurring basis is as follows:

• Level 1 – Quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in an active market that the reporting entity can access on the measurement date. An active market for the asset or liability is a market in which the transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

• Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices within Level 1 that are observable inputs for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. If the asset or liability has a specified (contractual) term, a Level 2 input must be observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability. Level 2 inputs include the following: (1) quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; (2) quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; (3) inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability (e.g., interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals, and implied volatilities); and (4) inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

• Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

A financial instrument’s categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The following assets and liabilities, including those for which the Bank has elected the fair value option, are carried at fair value on the Statements of Condition as of March 31, 2020:

• Trading securities

• AFS securities

• Certain advances

• Derivative assets and liabilities

• Certain consolidated obligation bonds

• Certain other assets

Commitments and Contingencies, Policy

Delivery commitments are recorded at fair value as derivative assets or derivative liabilities in the Statements of Condition.