Investments, All Other Investments (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]

Derivative Instruments

Derivative Instruments

The Corporation may use derivative instruments for trading purposes and to offset exposures associated with commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates that arise from existing assets, liabilities, firm commitments, and forecasted transactions. All derivative instruments, except those designated as normal purchase and normal sale, are recorded at fair value. Derivative assets and liabilities with the same counterparty are netted if the right of offset exists and certain other criteria are met. Collateral payables or receivables are netted against derivative assets and derivative liabilities, respectively.

Recognition and classification of the gain or loss that results from adjusting a derivative to fair value depends on the purpose for the derivative. All gains and losses from derivative instruments for which the Corporation does not apply hedge accounting are immediately recognized in earnings. The Corporation may designate derivatives as fair value or cash flow hedges. For fair value hedges, the gain or loss from derivative instruments and the offsetting gain or loss from the hedged item are recognized in earnings. For cash flow hedges, the gain or loss from the derivative instrument is initially reported as a component of other comprehensive income and subsequently reclassified into earnings in the period that the forecasted transaction affects earnings.

the Corporation initiated a program to hedge certain of its fixed-rate debt instruments against changes in fair value due to changes in the designated benchmark interest rate. This program utilizes fair value hedge accounting. The derivative (hedging) instruments are fixed-for-floating interest rate swaps, with settlement dates that correspond to the interest payments associated with the fixed-rate debt (hedged item). Changes in the fair values of the hedging instruments are perfectly offset by changes in the fair values of the hedged items; the effects of these changes in fair values are recorded in "Interest expense" in the Consolidated Statement of Income.