Basis of presentation

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JPMorgan Chase” or the “Firm”), a financial holding company incorporated under Delaware law in 1968, is a leading global financial services firm and one of the largest banking institutions in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small business, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. For a discussion of the Firm’s business segments, see Note 33.

The accounting and financial reporting policies of JPMorgan Chase and its subsidiaries conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”). Additionally, where applicable, the policies conform to the accounting and reporting guidelines prescribed by regulatory authorities.

Certain amounts reported in prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current presentation.

Consolidation

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of JPMorgan Chase and other entities in which the Firm has a controlling financial interest. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Assets held for clients in an agency or fiduciary capacity by the Firm are not assets of JPMorgan Chase and are not included on the Consolidated balance sheets.

The Firm determines whether it has a controlling financial interest in an entity by first evaluating whether the entity is a voting interest entity or a variable interest entity (“VIE”).

Voting Interest Entities

Voting interest entities are entities that have sufficient equity and provide the equity investors voting rights that enable them to make significant decisions relating to the entity’s operations. For these types of entities, the Firm’s determination of whether it has a controlling interest is primarily based on the amount of voting equity interests held. Entities in which the Firm has a controlling financial interest, through ownership of the majority of the entities’ voting equity interests, or through other contractual rights that give the Firm control, are consolidated by the Firm.

Investments in companies in which the Firm has significant influence over operating and financing decisions (but does not own a majority of the voting equity interests) are accounted for (i) in accordance with the equity method of accounting (which requires the Firm to recognize its proportionate share of the entity’s net earnings), or (ii) at fair value if the fair value option was elected. These investments are generally included in other assets, with income or loss included in other income.

Certain Firm-sponsored asset management funds are structured as limited partnerships or limited liability companies. For many of these entities, the Firm is the general partner or managing member, but the non-affiliated partners or members have the ability to remove the Firm as the general partner or managing member without cause (i.e., kick-out rights), based on a simple majority vote, or the non-affiliated partners or members have rights to participate in important decisions. Accordingly, the Firm does not consolidate these funds. In the limited cases where the nonaffiliated partners or members do not have substantive kick-out or participating rights, the Firm consolidates the funds.

The Firm’s investment companies have investments in both publicly-held and privately-held entities, including investments in buyouts, growth equity and venture opportunities. These investments are accounted for under investment company guidelines and accordingly, irrespective of the percentage of equity ownership interests held, are carried on the Consolidated balance sheets at fair value, and are recorded in other assets.

Variable Interest Entities

VIEs are entities that, by design, either (1) lack sufficient equity to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) have equity investors that do not have the ability to make significant decisions relating to the entity’s operations through voting rights, or do not have the obligation to absorb the expected losses, or do not have the right to receive the residual returns of the entity.

The most common type of VIE is a special purpose entity (“SPE”). SPEs are commonly used in securitization transactions in order to isolate certain assets and distribute the cash flows from those assets to investors. The basic SPE structure involves a company selling assets to the SPE; the SPE funds the purchase of those assets by issuing securities to investors. The legal documents that govern the transaction specify how the cash earned on the assets must be allocated to the SPE’s investors and other parties that have rights to those cash flows. SPEs are generally structured to insulate investors from claims on the SPE’s assets by creditors of other entities, including the creditors of the seller of the assets.

The primary beneficiary of a VIE (i.e., the party that has a controlling financial interest) is required to consolidate the assets and liabilities of the VIE. The primary beneficiary is the party that has both (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance; and (2) through its interests in the VIE, the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE.

To assess whether the Firm has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, the Firm considers all the facts and circumstances, including its role in establishing the VIE and its ongoing rights and responsibilities. This assessment includes, first, identifying the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance; and second, identifying which party, if any, has power over those activities. In general, the parties that make the most significant decisions affecting the VIE (such as asset managers, collateral managers, servicers, or owners of call options or liquidation rights over the VIE’s assets) or have the right to unilaterally remove those decision-makers are deemed to have the power to direct the activities of a VIE.

To assess whether the Firm has the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE, the Firm considers all of its economic interests, including debt and equity investments, servicing fees, and derivatives or other arrangements deemed to be variable interests in the VIE. This assessment requires that the Firm apply judgment in determining whether these interests, in the aggregate, are considered potentially significant to the VIE. Factors considered in assessing significance include: the design of the VIE, including its capitalization structure; subordination of interests; payment priority; relative share of interests held across various classes within the VIE’s capital structure; and the reasons why the interests are held by the Firm.

The Firm performs on-going reassessments of: (1) whether entities previously evaluated under the majority voting-interest framework have become VIEs, based on certain events, and therefore subject to the VIE consolidation framework; and (2) whether changes in the facts and circumstances regarding the Firm’s involvement with a VIE cause the Firm’s consolidation conclusion to change.

In February 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an amendment which deferred the requirements of the accounting guidance for VIEs for certain investment funds, including mutual funds, private equity funds and hedge funds. For the funds to which the deferral applies, the Firm continues to apply other existing authoritative accounting guidance to determine whether such funds should be consolidated.

Use of estimates in the preparation of consolidated financial statements

The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expense, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could be different from these estimates.

Foreign currency translation

JPMorgan Chase revalues assets, liabilities, revenue and expense denominated in non-U.S. currencies into U.S. dollars using applicable exchange rates.

Gains and losses relating to translating functional currency financial statements for U.S. reporting are included in other comprehensive income/(loss) (“OCI”) within stockholders’ equity. Gains and losses relating to nonfunctional currency transactions, including non-U.S. operations where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar, are reported in the Consolidated statements of income.

Offsetting assets and liabilities

U.S. GAAP permits entities to present derivative receivables and derivative payables with the same counterparty and the related cash collateral receivables and payables on a net basis on the Consolidated balance sheets when a legally enforceable master netting agreement exists. U.S. GAAP also permits securities sold and purchased under repurchase agreements to be presented net when specified conditions are met, including the existence of a legally enforceable master netting agreement. The Firm has elected to net such balances when the specified conditions are met.

The Firm uses master netting agreements to mitigate counterparty credit risk in certain transactions, including derivatives transactions, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and securities borrowed and loaned agreements. A master netting agreement is a single contract with a counterparty that permits multiple transactions governed by that contract to be terminated and settled through a single payment in a single currency in the event of a default (e.g., bankruptcy, failure to make a required payment or securities transfer or deliver collateral or margin when due after expiration of any grace period). Upon the exercise of termination rights by the non-defaulting party (i) all transactions are terminated, (ii) all transactions are valued and the positive value or “in the money” transactions are netted against the negative value or “out of the money” transactions and (iii) the only remaining payment obligation is of one of the parties to pay the netted termination amount. Upon exercise of repurchase agreement and securities loan default rights in general (i) all transactions are terminated and accelerated, (ii) all values of securities or cash held or to be delivered are calculated, and all such sums are netted against each other and (iii) the only remaining payment obligation is of one of the parties to pay the netted termination amount.

Typical master netting agreements for these types of transactions also often contain a collateral/margin agreement that provides for a security interest in, or title transfer of, securities or cash collateral/margin to the party that has the right to demand margin (the “demanding party”). The collateral/margin agreement typically requires a party to transfer collateral/margin to the demanding party with a value equal to the amount of the margin deficit on a net basis across all transactions governed by the master netting agreement, less any threshold. The collateral/margin agreement grants to the demanding party, upon default by the counterparty, the right to set-off any amounts payable by the counterparty against any posted collateral or the cash equivalent of any posted collateral/margin. It also grants to the demanding party the right to liquidate collateral/margin and to apply the proceeds to an amount payable by the counterparty.

For further discussion of the Firm’s derivative instruments, see Note 6. For further discussion of the Firm’s repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and securities borrowing and lending agreements, see Note 13.

Simplifying the presentation of debt issuance costs

Effective October 1, 2015, the Firm early adopted new accounting guidance that simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs, by requiring that unamortized debt issuance costs be presented as a reduction of the applicable liability rather than as an asset. The adoption of this guidance had no material impact on the Firm’s Consolidated balance sheets, and no impact on the Firm’s consolidated results of operations. The guidance was required to be applied retrospectively, and accordingly, certain prior period amounts have been revised to conform with the current period presentation.

Investments in qualified affordable housing projects

Effective January 1, 2015, the Firm adopted new accounting guidance for investments in affordable housing projects that qualify for the low-income housing tax credit, which impacted the Corporate & Investment Bank (“CIB”). As a result of the adoption of this new guidance, the Firm made an accounting policy election to amortize the initial cost of its qualifying investments in proportion to the tax credits and other benefits received, and to present the amortization as a component of income tax expense; previously such amounts were predominantly presented in other income. The guidance was required to be applied retrospectively, and accordingly, certain prior period amounts have been revised to conform with the current period presentation. The cumulative effect on retained earnings was a reduction of $284 million as of January 1, 2013. The adoption of this accounting guidance resulted in an increase of $907 million and $924 million in other income and income tax expense, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2014 and $761 million and $798 million, respectively, for the year ended December 2013, which led to an increase of approximately 2% in the effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. The impact on net income and earnings per share in the periods affected was not material. For further information, see Note 26.

Statements of cash flows

For JPMorgan Chase’s Consolidated statements of cash flows, cash is defined as those amounts included in cash and due from banks.

Significant accounting policies

The following table identifies JPMorgan Chase’s other significant accounting policies and the Note and page where a detailed description of each policy can be found.



Fair value measurement	Note 3	Page 184
Fair value option	Note 4	Page 203
Derivative instruments	Note 6	Page 208
Noninterest revenue	Note 7	Page 221
Interest income and interest expense	Note 8	Page 223
Pension and other postretirement employee benefit plans	Note 9	Page 223
Employee stock-based incentives	Note 10	Page 231
Securities	Note 12	Page 233
Securities financing activities	Note 13	Page 238
Loans	Note 14	Page 242
Allowance for credit losses	Note 15	Page 262
Variable interest entities	Note 16	Page 266
Goodwill and other intangible assets	Note 17	Page 274
Premises and equipment	Note 18	Page 278
Long-term debt	Note 21	Page 279
Income taxes	Note 26	Page 285
Off–balance sheet lending-related financial instruments, guarantees and other commitments	Note 29	Page 290
Litigation	Note 31	Page 297