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, asset management and private equity. For a discussion of the Firm’s business segments, see Note 33 on pages 334–337 of this Annual Report.
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. 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 make 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 derivative 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 January 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.
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.
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 balance sheet 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 loaned default rights (i) all securities loan 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 on pages 220–233 of this Annual Report. For further discussion of the Firm’s repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and securities borrowing and lending agreements, see Note 13 on pages 255–257 of this Annual Report.
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.
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Business changes and developments | Note 2 | | Page 192 |
Fair value measurement | Note 3 | | Page 195 |
Fair value option | Note 4 | | Page 215 |
Derivative instruments | Note 6 | | Page 220 |
Noninterest revenue | Note 7 | | Page 234 |
Interest income and interest expense | Note 8 | | Page 236 |
Pension and other postretirement employee benefit plans | Note 9 | | Page 237 |
Employee stock-based incentives | Note 10 | | Page 247 |
Securities | Note 12 | | Page 249 |
Securities financing activities | Note 13 | | Page 255 |
Loans | Note 14 | | Page 258 |
Allowance for credit losses | Note 15 | | Page 284 |
Variable interest entities | Note 16 | | Page 288 |
Goodwill and other intangible assets | Note 17 | | Page 299 |
Premises and equipment | Note 18 | | Page 305 |
Long-term debt | Note 21 | | Page 306 |
Income taxes | Note 26 | | Page 313 |
Off–balance sheet lending-related financial instruments, guarantees and other commitments | Note 29 | | Page 318 |
Litigation | Note 31 | | Page 326 |
