Derivative Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Derivative Financial Instruments

Derivative Financial Instruments

NOTE 24.    Derivative Financial Instruments

The following table summarizes the Company’s outstanding interest-rate and foreign currency swap contracts as of December 31, 2014 (dollars and GBP in thousands):

			Fixed
		Hedge	Rate/Buy				Notional/Sell
Date Entered	Maturity Date	Designation	Amount			Floating/Exchange Rate Index	Amount		Fair Value(1)
July 2005(2)	July 2020	Cash Flow		3.82	%	BMA Swap Index	$	45,600	$	(5,939)
November 2008(3)	October 2016	Cash Flow		5.95	%	1 Month LIBOR+1.50%	$	26,000		(1,724)
July 2012(3)	June 2016	Cash Flow		1.81	%	1 Month GBP LIBOR+1.20%	£	137,000		178
July 2012(4)	June 2016	Cash Flow	$	34,100		Buy USD/Sell GBP	£	21,700		276
July 2014(5)	December 2015	Cash Flow	$	7,500		Buy USD/Sell GBP	£	4,400		653

(1) Derivative assets are recorded in other assets, net and derivative liabilities are recorded in accounts payable and accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

(2) Represents three interest-rate swap contracts, which hedge fluctuations in interest payments on variable-rate secured debt due to overall changes in hedged cash flows.

(3) Hedges fluctuations in interest payments on variable-rate unsecured debt due to fluctuations in the underlying benchmark interest rate.

(4) Currency swap contract (buy USD/sell GBP) hedges the foreign currency exchange risk related to a portion of the Company’s forecasted interest receipts on GBP denominated senior unsecured notes. Represents a currency swap to sell £7.2 million at a rate of 1.5695 on various dates through June 2016.

(5) Currency swap contract (buy USD/sell GBP) hedges the foreign currency exchange risk related to the Company’s forecasted GBP denominated interest receipts on intercompany loans. Represents a currency swap to sell £0.4 million at a rate of 1.7060 on various dates through December 2015.

The Company uses derivative instruments to mitigate the effects of interest rate and foreign currency fluctuations on specific forecasted transactions as well as recognized financial obligations or assets. Utilizing derivative instruments allows the Company to manage the risk of fluctuations in interest and foreign currency rates related to the potential impact these changes could have on future earnings and forecasted cash flows. The Company does not use derivative instruments for speculative or trading purposes.

The primary risks associated with derivative instruments are market and credit risk. Market risk is defined as the potential for loss in value of a derivative instrument due to adverse changes in market prices. Credit risk is the risk that one of the parties to a derivative contract fails to perform or meet their financial obligation. The Company does not obtain collateral associated with its derivative contracts, but monitors the credit standing of its counterparties on a regular basis. Should its counterparty fail to perform, the Company could incur a financial loss to the extent that the associated derivative contract was in an asset position. At December 31, 2014, the Company does not anticipate non-performance by the counterparties to its outstanding derivative contracts.

On July 16, 2014, the Company entered into a foreign currency swap contract to hedge the foreign currency exchange risk related to GBP interest receipts on two intercompany loans. The cash flow hedge has a fixed USD/GBP exchange rate of 1.7060 (buy $0.6 million and sell £0.4 million monthly) and matures in December 2015. The fair value of the contract at December 31, 2014 was $0.7 million and is included in other assets, net. During the year ended December 31, 2014, there was no ineffective portion related to this hedge.

On July 27, 2012, the Company entered into a foreign currency swap contract to hedge the foreign currency exchange risk related to a portion of the forecasted interest receipts from its GBP denominated senior unsecured notes (see additional discussion of the Four Seasons senior unsecured notes in Note 10). The cash flow hedge has a fixed USD/GBP exchange rate of 1.5695 (buy $11 million and sell £7 million semi-annually) for a portion of its forecasted semi-annual cash receipts denominated in GBP. The foreign currency swap contract matures in June 2016 (the end of the non-call period of the senior unsecured notes). The fair value of the contract at December 31, 2014 was $0.3 million and is included in other assets, net. During the year ended December 31, 2014, there was no ineffective portion related to this hedge.

On July 27, 2012, the Company entered into an interest-rate swap contract that is designated as hedging the interest payments on its GBP denominated Term Loan due to fluctuations in the underlying benchmark interest rate (see additional discussion of the Term Loan in Note 11). The cash flow hedge has a notional amount of £137 million and expires in June 2016 (the maturity of the Term Loan). The fair value of the contract at December 31, 2014 was an asset of $0.2 million and is included in other assets, net. During the year ended December 31, 2014, there was no ineffective portion related to this hedge.

In December 2010, the Company assumed a cash flow hedge as part of a real estate acquisition. During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company determined a portion of the hedge was ineffective and reclassified $2.2 million of unrealized gains related to this interest-rate swap contract into other income, net.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company earned additional interest income of $1 million and recognized a reduction in interest expense of $4 million, resulting from its cash flow hedging relationships. At December 31, 2014, the Company expects that the hedged forecasted transactions for each of the outstanding qualifying cash flow hedging relationships remain probable of occurring, and as a result, no gains or losses recorded to accumulated other comprehensive loss are expected to be reclassified to earnings. During year ended December 31, 2014, there were no ineffective portions related to other outstanding hedges, other than those discussed above.

To illustrate the effect of movements in the interest rate and foreign currency markets, the Company performed a market sensitivity analysis on its outstanding hedging instruments. The Company applied various basis point spreads to the underlying interest rate curves and foreign currency exchange rates of the derivative portfolio in order to determine the instruments’ change in fair value. The following table summarizes the results of the analysis performed (dollars in thousands):

		Effects of Change in Interest and
		Foreign Currency Rates
		+50 Basis		−50 Basis		+100 Basis		−100 Basis
Date Entered	Maturity Date	Points		Points		Points		Points
Interest rates:
July 2005	July 2020	$	1,170	$	(1,194)	$	2,351	$	(2,375)
November 2008	October 2016		235		(220)		462		(447)
July 2012	June 2016		1,533		(1,560)		3,079		(3,106)
Foreign Currency:
July 2012	June 2016		(189)		149		(358)		319
July 2014	December 2015		(38)		30		(72)		64